FINAL FANTASY VIII: BRIDGES
by Corvus
PART TWO
The sight of the Ragnarok never failed to stir Squall's emotions. The crimson dracoform ship had saved his life and, more importantly, Rinoa's from the depths of space. It had flown him through the sky to rescue her again from Estharian stasis. He felt a bit silly knowing he was grateful to the vessel, but as Rinoa might say, "There's nothing wrong with a little sentimentality now and then." As he watched the Ragnarok settle on the special landing zone that had been constructed shortly after Balamb Garden had been resettled in its resting place some kilometers northeast of the city, he gave silent thanks once more. (Always helping me do the right thing.)
The landing ramp descended and a massive man made his way down to the tarmac. Raijin turned to look back up into the cavernous belly of the ship and watched without moving as the two SeeDs gently maneuvered a wheeled gurney down the ramp. He shuffled along beside the gurney as they approached the SeeD Commander, walking like a man defeated, and as they neared Squall could see the lines of worry and fear etched into Raijin's sun-dark face.
"Sir, we need to get her to the Infirmary right away," said one of the SeeDs.
Squall nodded and waved them past, then held up his hand to stop Raijin. "What happened?" he asked.
The muscular man shrugged, his shoulders shuffling around in their stoop, never quite straightening. "Tried to wake her up and she wouldn't come around. She's so cold, I thought maybe... ya know? But she's still breathin'."
"I alerted Dr. Kadowaki the moment you entered our airspace. She'll take care of it." Squall knew the only place Raijin would want to be at this moment was beside Fujin, but that was the one place he would be most underfoot, getting in the doctor's way. "Let's get you settled into a room, we can talk later. You have any bags?"
Raijin shook his head slowly. "All I got is the stuff I'm wearin', and Fujin."
"We'll get you fixed up. Come on inside."
They passed through the vehicle garage and into the brightly-lit interior of the Garden. Raijin's shoulders squared almost immediately, as if the memories of his time in this place were propping him up. "Ain't changed a bit," he observed breathlessly.
"I think the old saying is, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it,' or something like that." There had been a few small changes, of course -- the office at the top of the central hub elevator shaft had become the bridge of the mobile Garden, and was now being used as a command-and-control center. Cid Kramer, the nominal Garden Headmaster, had declined the offer of a new office, and Squall, the de-facto Headmaster by virtue of his rank, had taken a smaller unused classroom on the second level for business matters. "You going to be all right?"
For a moment Raijin was silent. His thoughts were written large across his face, in the widening of his eyes and the parting of his lips -- Squall Leonhart, asking about someone else's feelings? "I gotta survive, ya know. I gotta be all right."
"Just remember, if you need to talk to somebody, the Garden's full of good ears." (Never thought I'd say something like that.) "Cid and Edea are still here, and Rinoa. Quistis." Squall led the big man down the colonnaded spoke-walkway to the dormitory section, absorbing the sights and sounds of cadets and SeeDs enjoying the sun, reading, tossing a baseball, singing. These things were still kind of new to him, so he tended to notice them wherever he went. He hoped they reassured Raijin as much as they did him. "We've had a drop in enrollment recently. Families are keeping closer together, young people are sticking around to help rebuild their homes. And since Trabia Garden's been completed and upgraded into a full-capacity Garden, we've transfered some SeeDs there too."
They passed out of the sun into the first-floor lobby of the dormitory and turned left into the male's wing. Squall waved off a salute by the cadet manning the security desk and said to Raijin, "Singles are still on the third level so the SeeDs don't have to be annoyed by screaming cadets passing through." They passed open doors into double-bed cadet suites. The sounds of stereos and televisions, conversations and laughter drifted out to mingle in a glorious cacophony of life. Halfway down the curving corridor they reached the elevator to the upper level. Squall poked the single large button framed with decorative scrollwork on the wall. "Never there when you want it." (What am I doing? I'm babbling like an idiot.)
"Can I ask you somethin'?" Raijin inquired.
"Shoot."
"You think there's any chance Fu and me can get back into things?"
Now it was Squall's turn to be surprised. "Get back into what things?"
"SeeD, ya know? Missions. Training cadets. SeeD things."
The elevator dinged and the double doors hissed open. The men stepped into the lift, the doors hissing shut again behind them. "The Garden isn't a hotel," Squall said pointedly. "You said you wanted to come back, so I took it at face value."
"Yeah, I meant it. When can I start?"
(He's really eager,) the Commander mused. The doors opened once more to admit them to the upper dormitory level. (Must be afraid I'll turn around and kick him right back out.) "When do you want to start?"
"How 'bout tomorrow? I can't sit around mopin' all the time, ya know? Fu would kick my ass."
(She would at that, if she's anything like I remember.) "I don't have any Instructor openings at the moment, and I'm not going to send you right back out on a contract, not with Fujin in the shape she's in. I know you're w--"
"Don't say that word, ya know?"
"...about her. So let me think about it. I've got a meeting tonight with some of the faculty, they should have some ideas. I'll let you know as soon as possible."
The top level of the wing was much quieter than the ones below, and soundproofing kept the roar from penetrating into this sanctum. Squall led Raijin to the end of the carpeted corridor, farthest from the third-floor lobby, and pulled a key card from his pocket. "This is yours," he said as he handed it over to the big man. "I think you remember all the security regulations about these."
"Yeah, kinda had 'em drilled into us."
"No kidding, I still remember thinking it was crazy. Anyway, I have to go. This job's got me running all over the place. If you need anything, just use your study panel. Selphie Tilmitt helped upgrade the server network, so we've got point-to-point communication through the whole Garden now." He turned to go and was stopped by Raijin's expansive hand on his arm.
"Hey... I just wanted to say thanks again, man. From me and Fu both."
Squall clapped him on the shoulder and nodded. "Welcome back to the Garden, Raijin." He turned and walked away, acutely aware of the other man's eyes on his back, following him. So far, everything was going well. He closed his eyes as he stepped into the elevator and fervently wished that things would keep going the same way.
--------------------
Pale steel eyes studied the patterns of light that visualized the rhythms and signs of the patient's body. Heartbeat. Respiration. Blood pressure. Temperature. Neural activity. Except for the nearly hypothermic temperature of Fujin Kazeno's body and the albino's now comatose state, everything was perfectly normal. (Hyne's blood,) Dia L'nar cursed, (there's nothing wrong with her. What in Hell is happening?)
Dr. Kadowaki's resident assistant turned from her contemplation of the Estharian bioscanner and gazed hopefully toward the door to the lab, where the esteemed doctor herself was performing delicate bloodwork. Dia brushed an irritating lock of platinum-blonde hair back from her face and grit her teeth. Fujin had been brought into the Infirmary an hour ago. Kadowaki had made her preliminary diagnosis, drawn blood and vanished into the lab fifteen minutes later, ordering Dia to monitor the patient and report any change. Nothing so far. There was almost nothing Dia hated more than a mystery with no clues, nothing to grab hold of to start following the trail -- especially when the mystery was a patient.
During her cadet career at Galbadia Garden, Dia had experienced all manner of illnesses, as well as mysterious conditions brought about by less-than-natural causes. Cadets were notorious for trying to cover their excesses and vices, and she'd learned quickly to ferret out the truth. She'd also learned first-hand how to deal with sudden outbreaks of viral and bacteriological infections, some of which she privately thought had been tests by the Galbadian government of biological weapons. She'd even helped isolate and catalog a brand new type of influenza. But this... This was almost unearthly. Nothing she had learned gave her any idea what was happening to Fujin. Dia could handle something being outside the range of her experience, but when she'd caught the quickly-smothered expression on Dr. Kadowaki's face, she'd known an instant of fear.
The doctor's voice reached her over the intercom. "Dia, come here and take a look at this."
Dia rose from the wheeled stool next to Fujin's bed and, with a last, lingering glance at the bioscanner, left the cubicle. (Good thing there are no other patients in here right now,) she thought as she passed empty beds on her way to the lab door. Her fingers danced over the keypad on the wall, entering the access code of their own accord. The door slid aside to allow her entry into the decontamination cell beyond. She stepped into the red-lit meter and a half square chamber, and the door closed behind her with a firm thunk. The walls reverberated with a low thrum that vibrated up through her feet and into her bones as the chamber did its work, scanning her and neutralizing any biological and chemical contaminants it detected. The light changed from red to green, and the door in the far wall slid aside. Dia stepped into the lab.
"Tell me," said the matronly physician as she looked up from the microscope terminal at which she sat, "what you make of this."
Dia crossed over and looked at the display. "Perfectly healthy hematocytes, good leukocyte count. What I'm seeing is nothing, Doctor, is that what you mean?"
"At first, yes. No blood-borne pathogen, no sign of illness of any kind. I have to admit I've reached the end of my rope, so don't be surprised with what I show you next."
That didn't sound good. The finest doctor outside Esthar and, Dia would feel confident betting, in the entire world, Dr. Kadowaki never showed desperation. The only thing keeping panic from leaping out and strangling Dia's mind was the faint smile on the doctor's lips, telling her that finally, some clue had been found. "Okay."
"This here is Fujin's blood, as drawn. I had a wild notion and added in 1 cc of point-two percent UPM solution. Thank the spirits I had the recorder running. Look what I found." Kadowaki pressed a button on the terminal and the picture became a movie. The cells danced and collided haphazardly, microscopic shoppers in a crowded liquid mall. For a few seconds all was normal. But just as Dia was about to comment, sparks of light flared into sudden brilliance throughout the view, then faded as suddenly as they had come. "At first, I'm afraid, I had no idea what it meant. But then I checked the UPM level of the sample." Dia wouldn't have been surprised if a drumroll had sounded. "Zero."
Zero. Zero Undifferentiated Para-Magic. In the presence of living cells with active mitochondria, that was... "Impossible."
"See for yourself." Kadowaki nodded toward the numerical displays next to the image.
UPM: 0.0000%
"I know for a fact that this machine was calibrated. I did it myself, early this morning. Dia, we're looking at a hitherto-unknown and possibly fatal condition relating to para-magical energies, the first reported case of any such condition that I know of."
Unknown condition. A new type of illness. A brand new mystery without any predecessors, something they would have to attempt to treat without any precedent. (This would be exciting if it wasn't scaring me so much,) Dia thought as she felt herself growing cold. "What are we going to do?"
"We're going to do our best, Dia. That's what we always do."
How could she do her best when she didn't even know where to begin? Was this some kind of sick cosmic joke? Swallowing her frustration, Dia nodded. "Can we run that test again with a stronger UPM solution?"
"We're on the same track. We only have the point-two solution on hand, I'll need you to prepare some at point-five and one percent."
"I'll get right on it." At least she would have something to occupy her mind briefly.
Preparation of UPM solution was simple. Distilled water was passed through a decontamination chamber much like the one between the Infirmary and the lab. Dia filled two liter-size sterilized bottles, then walked over to a cabinet and took out a sealed container full of a very fine powder. This was the essence of the solution, pulverized from stones collected by cadets in the field. These stones contained undifferentiated para-magical energy, condensed at the moment of death from the Lunar-descended wildlife vulgarly called "monsters".
Para-magical energy was inherent to the universe itself. Since its discovery -- or, more accurately, its rediscovery -- by Helmut Odine, a race had been on among scientists and cosmologists worldwide to identify para-magic as the basis for a Grand Unified Theory of existence.
The energy was transformed into various resonances, "flavors", by the interactions of known forces. In living beings it was intensified to the point that each cataloged species "carried" the differentiated potential for the energy quanta known popularly as "spells"; cadets regularly drew Fire and Cure spells from the insectoids native to the Alcauld Plains. In some cases differentiated para-magical energy in a monster would remain upon its death, trapped in physical form and able to be harvested and released at a later time. At others, the base energy would coalesce without flavoring, and could be manipulated later on to create a dazzling array of useful items.
The simple process Dia was performing was the basis for the manufacture of healing draughts known popularly as "potions". All she would have to do from here was flavor the UPM solution with Cure resonance to create a batch. She could instead use the purifying spell known as Esuna to create medicine capable of curing natural diseases or para-magically inflicted hindrances. With a bit more work she could even render a draught that would restore a Guardian Force avatar wounded in the heat of battle. The science of medicine had been advanced by orders of magnitude by forces once thought to be unknowable, or even fictional.
After measuring out precise amounts of the UPM powder Dia funneled the substance into the bottles one at a time, carefully labeling each container, then took the bottles to the mixer. She locked each bottle in place in a holder much like a sconce, and closed the transparent shield. The machine whirred to life, violently shaking the bottles from side to side. (Light-years beyond traditional medicine, and here I am using a barely-modified paint mixer on it,) she thought with a smirk.
When the mixing was complete Dia removed the bottles and took them to a small table. Though the lab had a fluid measuring and dispensing unit, both doctor and assistant prefered to do some tasks, like the filling of the smaller bottles into which Dia now placed some of each solution, by hand. "Here you are," she said as she set the 100 mL bottles down in front of Kadowaki. "I'll clean up and go check on Fujin."
"Thank you," the doctor replied, and rose from her chair. Kadowaki stretched and took a deep breath. "What time is it?"
"About fifteen-hundred." Once again, the intrepid physician had completely missed lunch. "If you like I could run to the cafeteria and get you something."
Kadowaki shook her slowly-graying head, then reconsidered and nodded. "Yes, please do. I think I'm going to need it. Thank you."
Passage back through the decontamination chamber took no less time than before. In error on the side of caution, the chamber had been designed on the assumption that it was possible to pick up something in the lab that shouldn't be spread to the outside world. The light turned green and Dia stepped back into the Infirmary proper, then made her way to Fujin's cubicle. A quick glance was all Dia needed to see that the albino's condition had not changed. (At least,) she thought bitterly, (she's stable now.)
As Dia turned away from her patient, she felt a tingling in the back of her mind, a contact from the Guardian Force to which she was Junctioned. In irritation she brushed Siren aside. (Not now, dammit.) This wasn't the time for a friendly chat, she had work to do.
by Corvus
PART TWO
The sight of the Ragnarok never failed to stir Squall's emotions. The crimson dracoform ship had saved his life and, more importantly, Rinoa's from the depths of space. It had flown him through the sky to rescue her again from Estharian stasis. He felt a bit silly knowing he was grateful to the vessel, but as Rinoa might say, "There's nothing wrong with a little sentimentality now and then." As he watched the Ragnarok settle on the special landing zone that had been constructed shortly after Balamb Garden had been resettled in its resting place some kilometers northeast of the city, he gave silent thanks once more. (Always helping me do the right thing.)
The landing ramp descended and a massive man made his way down to the tarmac. Raijin turned to look back up into the cavernous belly of the ship and watched without moving as the two SeeDs gently maneuvered a wheeled gurney down the ramp. He shuffled along beside the gurney as they approached the SeeD Commander, walking like a man defeated, and as they neared Squall could see the lines of worry and fear etched into Raijin's sun-dark face.
"Sir, we need to get her to the Infirmary right away," said one of the SeeDs.
Squall nodded and waved them past, then held up his hand to stop Raijin. "What happened?" he asked.
The muscular man shrugged, his shoulders shuffling around in their stoop, never quite straightening. "Tried to wake her up and she wouldn't come around. She's so cold, I thought maybe... ya know? But she's still breathin'."
"I alerted Dr. Kadowaki the moment you entered our airspace. She'll take care of it." Squall knew the only place Raijin would want to be at this moment was beside Fujin, but that was the one place he would be most underfoot, getting in the doctor's way. "Let's get you settled into a room, we can talk later. You have any bags?"
Raijin shook his head slowly. "All I got is the stuff I'm wearin', and Fujin."
"We'll get you fixed up. Come on inside."
They passed through the vehicle garage and into the brightly-lit interior of the Garden. Raijin's shoulders squared almost immediately, as if the memories of his time in this place were propping him up. "Ain't changed a bit," he observed breathlessly.
"I think the old saying is, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it,' or something like that." There had been a few small changes, of course -- the office at the top of the central hub elevator shaft had become the bridge of the mobile Garden, and was now being used as a command-and-control center. Cid Kramer, the nominal Garden Headmaster, had declined the offer of a new office, and Squall, the de-facto Headmaster by virtue of his rank, had taken a smaller unused classroom on the second level for business matters. "You going to be all right?"
For a moment Raijin was silent. His thoughts were written large across his face, in the widening of his eyes and the parting of his lips -- Squall Leonhart, asking about someone else's feelings? "I gotta survive, ya know. I gotta be all right."
"Just remember, if you need to talk to somebody, the Garden's full of good ears." (Never thought I'd say something like that.) "Cid and Edea are still here, and Rinoa. Quistis." Squall led the big man down the colonnaded spoke-walkway to the dormitory section, absorbing the sights and sounds of cadets and SeeDs enjoying the sun, reading, tossing a baseball, singing. These things were still kind of new to him, so he tended to notice them wherever he went. He hoped they reassured Raijin as much as they did him. "We've had a drop in enrollment recently. Families are keeping closer together, young people are sticking around to help rebuild their homes. And since Trabia Garden's been completed and upgraded into a full-capacity Garden, we've transfered some SeeDs there too."
They passed out of the sun into the first-floor lobby of the dormitory and turned left into the male's wing. Squall waved off a salute by the cadet manning the security desk and said to Raijin, "Singles are still on the third level so the SeeDs don't have to be annoyed by screaming cadets passing through." They passed open doors into double-bed cadet suites. The sounds of stereos and televisions, conversations and laughter drifted out to mingle in a glorious cacophony of life. Halfway down the curving corridor they reached the elevator to the upper level. Squall poked the single large button framed with decorative scrollwork on the wall. "Never there when you want it." (What am I doing? I'm babbling like an idiot.)
"Can I ask you somethin'?" Raijin inquired.
"Shoot."
"You think there's any chance Fu and me can get back into things?"
Now it was Squall's turn to be surprised. "Get back into what things?"
"SeeD, ya know? Missions. Training cadets. SeeD things."
The elevator dinged and the double doors hissed open. The men stepped into the lift, the doors hissing shut again behind them. "The Garden isn't a hotel," Squall said pointedly. "You said you wanted to come back, so I took it at face value."
"Yeah, I meant it. When can I start?"
(He's really eager,) the Commander mused. The doors opened once more to admit them to the upper dormitory level. (Must be afraid I'll turn around and kick him right back out.) "When do you want to start?"
"How 'bout tomorrow? I can't sit around mopin' all the time, ya know? Fu would kick my ass."
(She would at that, if she's anything like I remember.) "I don't have any Instructor openings at the moment, and I'm not going to send you right back out on a contract, not with Fujin in the shape she's in. I know you're w--"
"Don't say that word, ya know?"
"...about her. So let me think about it. I've got a meeting tonight with some of the faculty, they should have some ideas. I'll let you know as soon as possible."
The top level of the wing was much quieter than the ones below, and soundproofing kept the roar from penetrating into this sanctum. Squall led Raijin to the end of the carpeted corridor, farthest from the third-floor lobby, and pulled a key card from his pocket. "This is yours," he said as he handed it over to the big man. "I think you remember all the security regulations about these."
"Yeah, kinda had 'em drilled into us."
"No kidding, I still remember thinking it was crazy. Anyway, I have to go. This job's got me running all over the place. If you need anything, just use your study panel. Selphie Tilmitt helped upgrade the server network, so we've got point-to-point communication through the whole Garden now." He turned to go and was stopped by Raijin's expansive hand on his arm.
"Hey... I just wanted to say thanks again, man. From me and Fu both."
Squall clapped him on the shoulder and nodded. "Welcome back to the Garden, Raijin." He turned and walked away, acutely aware of the other man's eyes on his back, following him. So far, everything was going well. He closed his eyes as he stepped into the elevator and fervently wished that things would keep going the same way.
--------------------
Pale steel eyes studied the patterns of light that visualized the rhythms and signs of the patient's body. Heartbeat. Respiration. Blood pressure. Temperature. Neural activity. Except for the nearly hypothermic temperature of Fujin Kazeno's body and the albino's now comatose state, everything was perfectly normal. (Hyne's blood,) Dia L'nar cursed, (there's nothing wrong with her. What in Hell is happening?)
Dr. Kadowaki's resident assistant turned from her contemplation of the Estharian bioscanner and gazed hopefully toward the door to the lab, where the esteemed doctor herself was performing delicate bloodwork. Dia brushed an irritating lock of platinum-blonde hair back from her face and grit her teeth. Fujin had been brought into the Infirmary an hour ago. Kadowaki had made her preliminary diagnosis, drawn blood and vanished into the lab fifteen minutes later, ordering Dia to monitor the patient and report any change. Nothing so far. There was almost nothing Dia hated more than a mystery with no clues, nothing to grab hold of to start following the trail -- especially when the mystery was a patient.
During her cadet career at Galbadia Garden, Dia had experienced all manner of illnesses, as well as mysterious conditions brought about by less-than-natural causes. Cadets were notorious for trying to cover their excesses and vices, and she'd learned quickly to ferret out the truth. She'd also learned first-hand how to deal with sudden outbreaks of viral and bacteriological infections, some of which she privately thought had been tests by the Galbadian government of biological weapons. She'd even helped isolate and catalog a brand new type of influenza. But this... This was almost unearthly. Nothing she had learned gave her any idea what was happening to Fujin. Dia could handle something being outside the range of her experience, but when she'd caught the quickly-smothered expression on Dr. Kadowaki's face, she'd known an instant of fear.
The doctor's voice reached her over the intercom. "Dia, come here and take a look at this."
Dia rose from the wheeled stool next to Fujin's bed and, with a last, lingering glance at the bioscanner, left the cubicle. (Good thing there are no other patients in here right now,) she thought as she passed empty beds on her way to the lab door. Her fingers danced over the keypad on the wall, entering the access code of their own accord. The door slid aside to allow her entry into the decontamination cell beyond. She stepped into the red-lit meter and a half square chamber, and the door closed behind her with a firm thunk. The walls reverberated with a low thrum that vibrated up through her feet and into her bones as the chamber did its work, scanning her and neutralizing any biological and chemical contaminants it detected. The light changed from red to green, and the door in the far wall slid aside. Dia stepped into the lab.
"Tell me," said the matronly physician as she looked up from the microscope terminal at which she sat, "what you make of this."
Dia crossed over and looked at the display. "Perfectly healthy hematocytes, good leukocyte count. What I'm seeing is nothing, Doctor, is that what you mean?"
"At first, yes. No blood-borne pathogen, no sign of illness of any kind. I have to admit I've reached the end of my rope, so don't be surprised with what I show you next."
That didn't sound good. The finest doctor outside Esthar and, Dia would feel confident betting, in the entire world, Dr. Kadowaki never showed desperation. The only thing keeping panic from leaping out and strangling Dia's mind was the faint smile on the doctor's lips, telling her that finally, some clue had been found. "Okay."
"This here is Fujin's blood, as drawn. I had a wild notion and added in 1 cc of point-two percent UPM solution. Thank the spirits I had the recorder running. Look what I found." Kadowaki pressed a button on the terminal and the picture became a movie. The cells danced and collided haphazardly, microscopic shoppers in a crowded liquid mall. For a few seconds all was normal. But just as Dia was about to comment, sparks of light flared into sudden brilliance throughout the view, then faded as suddenly as they had come. "At first, I'm afraid, I had no idea what it meant. But then I checked the UPM level of the sample." Dia wouldn't have been surprised if a drumroll had sounded. "Zero."
Zero. Zero Undifferentiated Para-Magic. In the presence of living cells with active mitochondria, that was... "Impossible."
"See for yourself." Kadowaki nodded toward the numerical displays next to the image.
UPM: 0.0000%
"I know for a fact that this machine was calibrated. I did it myself, early this morning. Dia, we're looking at a hitherto-unknown and possibly fatal condition relating to para-magical energies, the first reported case of any such condition that I know of."
Unknown condition. A new type of illness. A brand new mystery without any predecessors, something they would have to attempt to treat without any precedent. (This would be exciting if it wasn't scaring me so much,) Dia thought as she felt herself growing cold. "What are we going to do?"
"We're going to do our best, Dia. That's what we always do."
How could she do her best when she didn't even know where to begin? Was this some kind of sick cosmic joke? Swallowing her frustration, Dia nodded. "Can we run that test again with a stronger UPM solution?"
"We're on the same track. We only have the point-two solution on hand, I'll need you to prepare some at point-five and one percent."
"I'll get right on it." At least she would have something to occupy her mind briefly.
Preparation of UPM solution was simple. Distilled water was passed through a decontamination chamber much like the one between the Infirmary and the lab. Dia filled two liter-size sterilized bottles, then walked over to a cabinet and took out a sealed container full of a very fine powder. This was the essence of the solution, pulverized from stones collected by cadets in the field. These stones contained undifferentiated para-magical energy, condensed at the moment of death from the Lunar-descended wildlife vulgarly called "monsters".
Para-magical energy was inherent to the universe itself. Since its discovery -- or, more accurately, its rediscovery -- by Helmut Odine, a race had been on among scientists and cosmologists worldwide to identify para-magic as the basis for a Grand Unified Theory of existence.
The energy was transformed into various resonances, "flavors", by the interactions of known forces. In living beings it was intensified to the point that each cataloged species "carried" the differentiated potential for the energy quanta known popularly as "spells"; cadets regularly drew Fire and Cure spells from the insectoids native to the Alcauld Plains. In some cases differentiated para-magical energy in a monster would remain upon its death, trapped in physical form and able to be harvested and released at a later time. At others, the base energy would coalesce without flavoring, and could be manipulated later on to create a dazzling array of useful items.
The simple process Dia was performing was the basis for the manufacture of healing draughts known popularly as "potions". All she would have to do from here was flavor the UPM solution with Cure resonance to create a batch. She could instead use the purifying spell known as Esuna to create medicine capable of curing natural diseases or para-magically inflicted hindrances. With a bit more work she could even render a draught that would restore a Guardian Force avatar wounded in the heat of battle. The science of medicine had been advanced by orders of magnitude by forces once thought to be unknowable, or even fictional.
After measuring out precise amounts of the UPM powder Dia funneled the substance into the bottles one at a time, carefully labeling each container, then took the bottles to the mixer. She locked each bottle in place in a holder much like a sconce, and closed the transparent shield. The machine whirred to life, violently shaking the bottles from side to side. (Light-years beyond traditional medicine, and here I am using a barely-modified paint mixer on it,) she thought with a smirk.
When the mixing was complete Dia removed the bottles and took them to a small table. Though the lab had a fluid measuring and dispensing unit, both doctor and assistant prefered to do some tasks, like the filling of the smaller bottles into which Dia now placed some of each solution, by hand. "Here you are," she said as she set the 100 mL bottles down in front of Kadowaki. "I'll clean up and go check on Fujin."
"Thank you," the doctor replied, and rose from her chair. Kadowaki stretched and took a deep breath. "What time is it?"
"About fifteen-hundred." Once again, the intrepid physician had completely missed lunch. "If you like I could run to the cafeteria and get you something."
Kadowaki shook her slowly-graying head, then reconsidered and nodded. "Yes, please do. I think I'm going to need it. Thank you."
Passage back through the decontamination chamber took no less time than before. In error on the side of caution, the chamber had been designed on the assumption that it was possible to pick up something in the lab that shouldn't be spread to the outside world. The light turned green and Dia stepped back into the Infirmary proper, then made her way to Fujin's cubicle. A quick glance was all Dia needed to see that the albino's condition had not changed. (At least,) she thought bitterly, (she's stable now.)
As Dia turned away from her patient, she felt a tingling in the back of her mind, a contact from the Guardian Force to which she was Junctioned. In irritation she brushed Siren aside. (Not now, dammit.) This wasn't the time for a friendly chat, she had work to do.