Warchief
Likewise, I wish you a happy New Year.
First things first: when your associates carried their contraption into the elite's lounge and handed Bertholdt that folder, we were quite sceptical amid his excitement. You can imagine our surprise when such a tiny box produced sounds to the effect of an entire orchestra like it was present with us in the room. Suffice to say, Bertholdt was satisfied with his gift. I've never even heard such joyous, upbeat music in my life and am intrigued to see more of the art the outside world has produced.
Bertholdt told us about an orchestral performance about the celestial bodies he once waited at as a young warrior candidate. He claimed it left such a profound impression on him that when he thinks of home and the war, he thinks of that performance. From his description and various attempts to hum the composition, I hope I may one day hear it in person as well.
In the past nine days, he has obediently let me carry out various extractions.
The first few days, I worked with his inner elbows and knees and arteries in his upper and lower arms. Next, I drew blood from his femoral artery using a thicker needle. When he took this quietly, I moved on to that dreaded carotid artery, a location he was slightly more apprehensive about but otherwise let me work with. The final blood draw tests, I carried out in the small of his back. He elbowed me a few times and ended the experiment deathly pale and unwilling to move as it took me quite a few tries to actually find a vein, but the unintended consequence is that he now has plenty of experience with needles in his back!
By the time I switched to harvesting organ samples yesterday, he was already quite accustomed to sitting in my study surrounded by sharp tools. I decided to start with peritoneal fluid, as I'd only need to puncture one major barrier to obtain it. I mostly harvested blood at first; I presume that my puncture was not accurate. My subsequent attempts yielded a clear yellow fluid. He was more restless and produced a few low sounds when I carried out the punctures but was otherwise complacent.
This morning, I tried to carry out a puncture of his stomach. This led him to vomit and request to resume the test tomorrow. I wanted to continue, but my assistant insisted we postpone the experiment. This is one downside of Bertholdt's friendships with my scouts; I will need to be more selective in who assists during the most painful procedures.
Future tests will be carried out before his breakfast, and he will fast the day before.
I have asked him about his pain levels before, during, and after each draw to allow me to make them as painless as is within my control. Discomfort levels rose during the general course of the blood draws, but he only reported pain during the organ sampling. The peritoneal puncture may prove to be more painful than the spinal tap itself. Still, I will focus on organ sampling for as long as he allows me to and push him towards sitting through the pain for the sake of his peers and his successors when he starts to decline procedures. I already have a particular person he has grown close to in mind who might spontaneously encourage him to hold on and finish the procedures for the greater good.
At this rate, he will be ready for his first spinal tap on either next Monday or Tuesday. Please tell me: what colour of fluid may I expect to ensure I hit the correct location?
Lastly, I have enclosed my revised report of our second Colossal Titan test. Let me know if it is up to Marleyan standards. Some of your suggested sections were not clear to me; I apologise in case the quality of these sections is low.
I shall await your response before I proceed; please send your letter with haste.
Respectfully
Commander Hange
7th of January, 852