1:00 P.M.
Arpy tore the orb out of the head, which greatly increased the rotting process of the corpse. It's been less than an hour, but already very little of the creature remains. Only it's bones and a few shreds of muscle.
The orb is perfectly spherical, and it was depressed into the brainstem. It has a diameter of 42.5 mm, or 1.67 inches. It's roughly the size of a golf ball, tiny compared to the titanic proportions of the creature. It does not change size, but holding it feels like touching a pulse. There is a clear beat within it, and it glows an eerie red.
Considering the impenetrable nature of the blood vessels and organs within the creature, I hypothesized that the orb would be even more indestructible. To test my theory, I did my level best to destroy it.
I first attempted to cut it with my largest and sharpest scalpel, but the effort only cost me the instrument. I then tried to smash it with a hammer. Again, no effect. I turned then to more creative means. I dropped it into a vat of highly acidic lava, a leftover from a failed dish-cleaning spray I was trying to invent. No effect. I tossed it into a blender, but the blades shattered after only one cycles. I tried to vaporize it with the beam turret Dr. Noric left me. Not even a scratch.
I attempted several other methods [1], but none came close to cracking the orb, let alone destroying it. Out of desperation, I left it in Arpy's training room and let him have a go with it for 20 minutes. He left the room with the orb in his hand. Dozens of palm-shaped and fist-shaped craters decorated the interior, with smaller, circular craters within them. And I know for a fact that the room has a thin seastone coating.
The orb was still unharmed.
I've given up trying to break the object and am now studying it intently. I hooked it up to the Vegascanner, and was startled to find that it glowed more brightly depending on how much Vegabolt was flowing through it. At 5,000 Vb, the orb was blinding.
But that wasn't the only change. The orb's beat grew more complex with the increase of energy. At first I chalked it up to a simple influx of electrical current, but it didn't take long for the beat to sound less like a heart and more like a song rhythm. Even worse, for a second I thought I heard a voice singing along to the rhythm, but it turned out to be my imagination.
I've stored the orb in a vault near my anechoic chamber, where I'm keeping the Molly Carnation. It's insistence for gaming is increasing, to the point that it almost sounds desperate.
[1] For more specific details, consult my records.
2:25 P.M.
An unbelievable development has occurred. Cat Burglar Nami is awake.
I found and stabilized her on the 20th, and today is the 29th. I've never seen anyone come out of a coma this fast before, and certainly not one as deep as the Cat Burglar's.
Still, her condition is rather poor. She internal structure is sound and I've prevented infection, but her body is unnaturally thin. Her breathing, pulse, and blood sugar are still too low compared to the average young adult female. She was probably in the early stage of starvation when I found her.
In the past hour, from 1:20 P.M to 2:10 P.M., I have conversed with the Cat Burglar. Our entire conversation was recorded and I am now copying it down here. It may start to resemble a theater script, because I will be adding in moments of significant movement and recognition. I've sharpie-d all major expletives. I don't like swearing.
This is what we said in that hour:
Cifer: Hello? Can you hear me? Are you Cat Burglar Nami?
Nami: (Cringes back, weary) Who the **** are you?
Cifer: My name is Dr. Phillius Cifer. I'm the one in charge of this facility.
She begun to relax, but only a little. After noticing her missing arm, however, she started groaning obscenities. The effort left her exhausted and shivering.
Cifer: …are you all right?
Nami: (Starts laughing weakly) What the **** do you think?
Cifer: I think you are in need of a lot of rest. I will return when you are in a better mood.
Nami: (Becomes panicked, shouts) NO! Don't leave, please. (Looks desperate)
Cifer: You've been through a lot. I think it would be better if you rested.
Nami: I don't need rest. I've been resting for a ******* week! Please!
Against my better judgement, I stayed by her side. It wouldn't be until later that I realized she was aware of how long she had been in a coma.
Cifer: Don't try to move around so much. It will only strain your body, and you do need rest.
Nami: (nods slightly) Okay. Sorry, I, I'm usually not this clingy.
Cifer: It's understandable. What you've been through has clearly traumatized you.
I don't think I was exaggerating. While it's never good to judge appearances, I will say that Nami's poster, despite its provocative nature, radiated confidence. I imagine she was much like Linda. None of that confidence was present in my conversation with her. She was constantly fighting for breath, even though her lungs were working. And her eyes were glazed over, staring into space.
With this in mind, I decided to hold off of asking her what happened. It would probably trigger bad memories. She needed to recover mentally.
Cifer: …would you like anything? Perhaps some food?
Nami: Sure.
Nami consumed a small soup I had prepared specifically for starved people. Mostly broth with a few shavings of meat and raw fiber. She gulped it down so quickly that I had to restrain her mildly, to keep her from spilling on herself.
After that, we continued to chat idly. I talked about my experiments. In fact, I did 96.5467% of the talking, according to my calculator. She had little to say in response, mostly just nodding and listening half-heartedly. It seemed to calm her down, and her movements became a bit more animated.
I know I said I would record this, but you can listen to it yourself. It's on one of my transponder record tapes in the snail room of my facility. Feeling a bit tired.
4:00 P.M.
I again conversed with Nami, at 3:45 to 3:56 P.M. She was more talkative this time.
Nami: You know, I've seen dragons before.
Cifer: Really? Where?
Nami: In the East Blue. There was a whole flock of them, on an island called Warship Island. We met this girl named Apis who could talk to animals.
Cifer: The Whisper-Whisper fruit?
Nami: (blinks rapidly) Yes, actually. How did you know?
Cifer: I've memorized every devil fruit in the books.
Nami: All of them!?
Cifer: Yes. As a scientist, it's only natural that I be aware of the many different powers and objects of scientific interest. That includes all fruits.
Nami: (smiles for the first time) Impressive. Do you have a devil fruit power?
Cifer: I do. It's called the Double-Double fruit.
I demonstrated my fruit's ability and doubled the cup of water near Nami's bed. I explained to her that I could double any inorganic object, with the exception being myself.
Nami: That's incredible! And you're a surgeon, right? Your fruit could make you a one-man operating team.
Cifer: That's exactly what I do! But I can only double myself twice. If I try again to make eight, I'll pass out. Breaking the rules of physics takes energy.
Nami: You know, I once knew a guy who could affect inorganic objects, but only himself. His name was Shiki, the Golden Lion.
I noticed the obvious disgust she emitted when saying his name, and after a bit of prodding, she told me the whole story of the crew's fight with the Golden Lion. I was rather impressed that Straw Hat had been able to defeat one of the most infamous pirates of the early days of the Age, but not that surprised. Shiki would be 72 now, according to his birthdate, and he had lost his legs. Even with his powers, Straw Hat probably had a distinct stamina advantage.
Nami: After we beat him, we sailed on towards the Red Line. We were about eleven months into our voyage by then. We were almost there…
She drifted off then, and the look of pain that crossed her face alerted me to the time of events.
Cifer: When did you defeat Shiki?
Nami: I'm not sure of the exact date. It was around…five weeks ago.
I nodded along, and quickly shut down the conversation with a plea to rest. She complied, and drifted off.
However, even as I write this, I can hear groans coming from Nami's room. She must be having a nightmare.
4:23 P.M.
The Molly Carnation killed itself. It turned into acid and completely wrecked my anechoic chamber. What a spiteful little shoot.
The dragons have become very agitated as of late. Arpy is seeing to them, but I worry.
The red orb remains a mystery.
This has been a long day. I think I'll turn in early tonight.