Chapter 2
"EEG scans indicate his brain is still functioning, though he doesn't seem to be responsive to any outside stimuli," explained Dr. Nancy Gonzalez, a neurologist at the hospital where Fox Mulder had spent most of the past 15 years. Walter, Peter, and Astrid followed her as she walked down the hallway. "We had high hopes for his recovery, in the beginning."
"What's his PCI?" asked Walter.
"It varies between 0.2 and 0.5," she replied. "Other than his boss, and for the first couple of years this odd group of three guys, no one has been to visit him. No family. It's sad."
Walter looked down at the patient thoughtfully, then forced open his eyelids and examined his pupils. Dr. Gonzalez looked a little irritated, but more resigned than anything else.
"May I ask, do you have his PET scan results handy?"
She took his medical file from its slot at the foot of the bed, thumbed through it to the requested pages, and handed it to Walter.
"Ah, excellent." He looked through a few pages with interest. "He is an ideal specimen for our study. We will have him transferred to our clinic.
Dr. Gonzalez nodded. She felt uneasy about the arrangement, but their authorization papers were in order, and honestly it would almost be a relief to have a patient they could do nothing else for off their hands so her team could focus on those patients—mostly injured vets—who could benefit from the hospital's resources.