Mandalas
Discussion and Discovery
Neena sat in her study on the 7th floor of the Tower. The room was inside a large meeting room that was often used for meetings with Trikad officials. This workspace is one-third the size of the meeting room with similar shades of blue and gray. The woman was wearing a dark blue dress and a Neena Trikad tiara.
In front of Neena there are 3 large screens in the form of projections of the four other city leaders on the island. There is one more projection that has not yet appeared.
“Good morning,” greet Neena from the seat where she sits.
“Good morning.”
Three old men greeted Neena from their screens. The island's annual meeting should be held in 3 months, but the emergency situation makes them make additional meetings.
“Can Freo Mikrad not attend the meeting this time?” ask Neena to all of them.
Commander Ri who was standing next to Neena replied, “There has been no reply from our ambassador there yet. Not even from the ambassador Mikrad. We've been trying to contact since last night.”
“Maybe a little late?” freo Durjad. He wore a bone white shirt with both arms rolled up to the elbows. Even though they were the same age, this man looked very young.
Another screen appeared before them. Freo Mikrad, in a tan suit and leather sweatshirt, was inside the screen. This man had brownish black hair with a thin mustache above his lips. He sat stiffly, his face hard and cold. He nodded stiffly in front of the screen.
Freo Conrad, a long-bearded little man in a bright blue shirt, cleared his throat. He said, “Before starting the emergency meeting this time, I invite friends to pray.”
Everyone seemed silent for a moment. After completion, Freo Conrad continued, “Rapat this time opened.”
“I invite Neena Trikad to discuss the main topic today.”
Neena gave a small nod, She said, “As Trikad's ambassador has told friends, there have been two major Lentipede attacks in these 2 days.”
“Trikad has tightened the gate and city guard, we have also requested active units to guard in each city as needed.”
“Where are they from? I read the case reports and they are bigger than we have ever faced.” Freo Heriad, a stocky male with conventional glasses, cuts Neena. “Their number is also slightly no more than ten.”
“However, just as deadly, I read there were 2 victims in treatment and 1 died,” said Freo Durjad.
Neena said, “We haven't been able to confirm. If there is any progress, we will notify you as soon as possible. But for now I advocate the whole city to secure itself. Tighten care, until we find out more.”
“They have really evolved! Could-can we run out if they come with more numbers,” exclaimed Freo Heriad.
“Can we attack them? Or push where it came from. They are formed because there is a host, right?” freo Conrad asked in a slight panic.
“Ya, but we have not been able to find it,” Neena said. “From the results of monitoring LTK and several witnesses, we got the first Lentipede emerging from the sea, which is very difficult to trace where they came from. The next five Lentipede emerged from the trees north of Trikad. I'll ask Mandala to wander around the trees this afternoon.”
All, except Freo Mikrad, nodded in agreement.
“And for the safety of citizens, I advocate the temporary closure of the entire city gate. Perhaps all mining and industrial activities can be temporarily halted. We do not know where they came from, it could be that these creatures will spread throughout the island.”
“What about the relationship between cities? Closing the entire gate will also cut off all transportation routes,”, Freo Heriad said.
“If there will be a disconnection between cities, the basic needs of the citizens of the entire island must be guaranteed,” said Freo Conrad, He twisted his beard several times.
“We can send large cargo jets to transport food to 5 cities. We only need to open one airport line in a certain period. Every week for example,” says Freo Durjad proposes.
Everyone else nodded in agreement except Freo Mikrad. “Thank you, Freo,” says Neena.
Freo Conrad, as moderator today, cleared his throat again asking for attention. “Freo Mikrad, can we ask your help for accelerated monthly food distribution?”
Freo Mikrad sat leaning back while propping his face with both hands. He did not move at all when he asked, “For how long?”
“Maybe we can expect a month ahead. LTK is also reviewing the possibility of when they stopped carrying out attacks. But, one month can be enough time to hide,” Neena said.
“Hidden and we are the ones feeding you guys not to get flaky,” said the man coldly.
“Yes, we expect that from Mikrad. As already stated in the One Island Decree,” said Neena with a slightly sharp tone.
“And as stated in the Decree also, it is said to be the sequencing of one specialization to one
city,” says Freo Mikrad. He sat up straight, staring at the screen. Everyone was silent watching.
“What do you mean?” ask Neena.
“We know that Trikad has developed their Hydroform gardens underground in the city. Trikad can supply their own food without compromising with other cities.” The man's face grew louder. “Isn't that breaking the decree?”
“The allegations were not proven true. It was a rumor spread by an irresponsible group,” Neena said, trying to keep a calm look.
“And what group is it, Neena?” ask the man. “Of course you can't answer, because your own police force denies the existence of the group. Gephu, the
rebel movement declared never exist.”
Commander Ri who was next to Neena stood unsettled. He glanced at Neena many times. The woman remained seated with the same cold face.
“Then where else would you throw the accusation?”
“I can't say anything because it's all unproven. If indeed you insist, we open the case after the attack ends,” Neena said firmly.
“Until this second we are all bound Decree. For the benefit of the people who are under all of us, I strongly request the cooperation of all Freo all of you.” Neena swept one by one the faces that appeared on the big screen.
“Shortly we are becoming a threat and I am not exaggerating,” said Neena, ending her sentence sharply.
Freo Durjad raised his hands slightly. “I agree we should keep working together. This is not the time for politics.”
Freo Conrad and Freo Heriad were staring at their screens nervously. But all three nodded.
“But, after all justice must be served, right?” ask Freo Durjad. He looked at Neena and Freo Mikrad in turn.
“Of course. So we take this Hydroform case to the island council after the attack is over. If
indeed there is a violation, the city that violates will be subject to sanctions,” said Freo Heriad.
All Freo stared at each other's screens. If they were in one room, maybe everyone would have looked at Neena and Freo Mikrad in turn. He hopes the two oldest cities
often these bickers are willing to solve their problems in accordance with the existing law.
“Good, then,” says Neena again. He looked at Freo Mikrad. Both looked coldly. “After the attack ends.”
***
Joke sat in the middle seat of the data room lt. -6 Geduna. The room was hexagon-shaped with long tables spread out. The tables fill 6 sides of the room and several places in the middle. The tables are arranged around a small tube as high as 1 meter which is where Hana to supervise the visitors of the data room. The room was pretty quiet. The students and researchers who used the Geduna data no longer filled the tables. It has been 3 days all residents are home, geduna itself feels very lonely.
Joke was busy reading some old articles and journals projected in front of her.
Monitoring the effects of prolonged exposure to Lentipede: Study of 10 serial cases.
By
Rakshmi, Derik
Joke read the case one by one. All of them are adult cases with a standard initial appearance: fever and congestion. Some cases died before the completion of the sculpting on day 7.
Joke has yet to find a match to the Leno case she is facing right now. In the last pages, there was one case that caught Joke's attention.
9. Mr. B, 43 years.
Assailed
5 Lentipede measuring 10 cm in February year xxxx in the back yard of Trikad Southwest housing. Previous disease: Heart rhythm disorder.
Monitoring
day 0: Speech and visual hallucinations (decreased awareness)
Monitoring
day 1: Comma (using a support device)
Joke zooms in on the 0 and 1 day monitoring reports.
“Tn. B came by raving and said there was a black shadow following him. He said it was his late father who had died a long time ago when he was young. The shadow was tugging at his body so he felt like he had to run to the exit at all times. Mr. B is said to be cleaning the grass when one Lentipede tail strikes his left arm. Moments later 4 Lentipede came and gnawed at Mr.'s arm. B for 20 minutes before Mandala unit come.”
Joke read fast Mr. B given, all are the same according to the Geduna protocol. Mr. B got a few sedative injections which then made his consciousness decline rapidly. Joke turned the page after that, Mr. B died on the 2nd day in a non-returned consciousness.
Joke read the last case succinctly. He turned off the projection of the article. Joke sighed. There was not much he could get other than what he had learned before: Lentipede was a very fatal infectious animal and its effects could affect any organ including the brain and nervous system. This only reinforces his suspicions that Leno is experiencing episodes of hallucinations and serious amnesia brought on by yesterday's attack.
“Hai, friend. Still in headquarters?”
“Iya, Bon. It's changed shift huh?”
“Yes, this time I took a break. But it looks like I'm going to stop by Geduna to pick up some stuff. Where are you?”
“Floor data room -6. You want to come here?”
“Yes of course. You don't miss me?”
“Jijik,” said Joke quickly. At the end of the phone, Bon laughed.
“OK, I'm there.”
Joke ended the call. These three days were busy days and felt very long. All have their respective responsibilities of watching the entire city in turn.
Joke glanced at the clock on her bracelet. There was still half an hour before he returned to guard. Joke went back to looking for a journal related to Leno's case. There was another journal that caught his attention.
Development of Immune Systems in Children with Lentipede Exposure at Early Age.
By
Herona, Riddha-ana.
Old journal, about 15 years ago. Joke reads some abstract sentences, introductions, and loaded images and graphics. Joke then jumped into the discussion section of the article.
“In general, children tend to be more susceptible to various external stimuli especially infections and superinfection caused by exposure to evolutionary animals such as Lentipede. Many cases of children who are not helped because of late handling, or so much exposure. Although until this research was conducted there was no classification of Lentipede that could be used as a classification system of animals and plants, researchers assumed not all Lentipede have the same level of infection. It is not yet clear whether this relates to the host that contributed to producing the animal. But some examples of the above cases show that not all Lentipede can cause the same severity of the disease. In children of the same age and gender, there are differences in clinical features and healing phases. We found it interesting that a growing immunity was formed against exposure to Lentipede. In cases where the child gets repeated exposure,
they did not experience more severe pain than previous exposure. The healing phase is shorter. To date, there have been no cases of finding full immunity to exposure to Lentipede. However, we can assume that this can happen in the future. Mechanisms similar to past vaccine administration can be applied to understand this hypothesis.”
Below it are several graphs calculating the types of various compounds taken in some cases of children with repeated exposure to Lentipede. There is improvement in symptoms and improvement of the immune system is good. Joke pondered for a moment. Full immunity? He read it a little while in college. The theory could only be justified if the repeated exposure one received could make him immune to the same Lentipede.
But, Leno is not completely immune, he experiences episodes of hallucinations and anxiety disorders that could be caused by Lentipede.
“Halo, Hana.”
The door of the room opens. Bon waltzed in wearing his white robe. His face was tired from not sleeping last night. Hana turned her head and body towards the door. He scanned Bon's face, then said, “Good Morning, Moonasera.”
Bon pulled the chair next to Joke. A bulkhead automatically emerged from within the table that was in front of them, making Bon unable to glance at what Joke was reading. Joke rubbed the bulkhead to lower it back.
“You look very tired. Did something happen at the west gate?” ask Joke
“Not really.” Bon shook his head. “Some members of Andri's unit asked me to tell you about the events in FIGHTR. Since I am also not in place, I chattered according to what I heard from Maha and your report.”
“Means no attack tonight?”
“Thank God not.”
“Hmm.. maybe Neena can loosen the city situation a little,” said Joke hope.
“Can be,” says Bon. He patted Joke on the shoulder, “Oy, how are you? I just found out you're still in charge of the victims with Maha. Why don't you transfer responsibility to Geduna's permanent unit? Maybe Maha wants to take care of her own sister, but you can hand her over to someone else.”
Joke weighed in for a moment. It is true that he was able to do so, handing Leno over to be supervised by a fixed unit of geduna. But, Joke saw there was something else in this case that he had to learn.Added with the suspicion that Maha had said yesterday certainly made Joke more curious about the recent events. Joke recalled Maha saying she had discussed with Bon. Maybe he could share it with Bon about what he got. At once helps to decipher the thread
the crease that still caked his head.
“I found something,” says Joke.
“On this victim?”
“Yes, Leno. He experienced panic attacks, visual hallucinations, and other disorders.”
“Oh,wow. I'm sorry.” Bon sat up straight, a little surprised. “I guess yesterday it was fine.”
“I just spoke to him yesterday afternoon. Looks like I triggered his panic attack. He asked about the circumstances of his friend, Mia,”, Joke said.
“Ya, yes. It was natural because the events of that night could be categorized as catastrophic.”
Joke nodded. “Katastrophic yes. Events that almost made him or others lose their lives.”
“Or other incidents that interfere with self-integrity such as bullying, rape, etc.,” Bon continued.
“But,” says Bon again. “The hallucinations are things I rarely hear. What did he see?”
Joke describes the shadow Leno is telling. A young woman holding a baby and another woman Leno remembers as her aunt.
“Did he see those three shadows for real? In his room. Or just as a dream?” ask Bon.
Joke thought again. Leno did not show where the shadow appeared in his room. From Leno's story, it seemed like what he saw could be said to be a dream.
“After I thought nothing, Bon. He doesn't see a shadow, but it's like seeing a memory.the events stored in your head,” Joke said as she fumbled over his memory.
“Ooh,” chirps Bon. “Memory can be different from hallucinations. If the shadow is perceived to be real in front of you it is called hallucination.”
Joke was a bit gobsmacked with Bon's intelligence. “I forgot you were so great in this field,” said Joke.
Bon laughing. “Just remember a little. The topic of the soul became my final test case, if you remember.”
Joke tekekeh's. Then he asked again, “But, Bon, the memory comes from what you've been through, right? What if he had amnesia too, he could not remember who the woman he saw was.”
“Amnesia? Interesting too, “ said Bon as he rubbed his chin. “How short-term memory?”
“Not affected. Short-term, short-term, medium-term memory has also been asked,” replied Joke. “He just can't remember that shadow and also his own mother.”
“Had?” asked Bon in surprise.
"Yes, he also said suddenly can't remember anything about his mother, specifically.” I asked him a few questions about his family and he answered well. But, this memory and everything about his mother just disappeared,” Joke explained.
“Is there a female relationship with her mother?” ask Bon.
“Can be so, but he doesn't remember at all.”
Bon leaned his body forward. He looks serious. Bon said, “It looks like this is more serious than I imagined. What happened to his mother's memory? Why is that memory specific missing?”
Joke nodded. “To know, it takes a serious head injury or severe dementia to be able to erase the image of someone you know.”
“There must be something else, I remember reading about this. Something about childhood trauma,” Bon said while thinking hard.
A childhood? Joke remembered something important that she had not asked. “Is he a victim of bullying or something?”
“Can be.”
“But, what does that have to do with Lentipede attacking him then?” joke was confused.
“Maybe this exposure only triggers the existing ones. I don't mean as a cause of amnesia or anything like that. Just as a trigger for the emergence of something that has been broken for a long time,”kata
Bon.
They long silent. Then maybe it's something else, not purely Lentipede exposure that makes Leno experience memory loss or maybe just a dream.
“Does this child have a previous history of the disease?” ask Bon.
Joke opened a new page and typed Leno's name. After the facial scan is complete, the page containing Leno's treatment history opens. He had checked this many times before. There are only annual routine control results since the first year in FIGHTERR, the rest are not found abnormalities.
“You should see everything. Take a look at the birth and development records section of toddler.” Bon co-directed the Leno disease history page that was plastered in front of them.
They searched up to the longest data he had ever found. Then when it came to the final history of toddlerhood, they were both stunned.
“He was treated here,” Joke said.
“Age 6 years. One of the victims of the Lentipede outbreak 12 years ago. It said it was in critical condition for 1 week and then improved. He was discharged after 3 weeks of treatment,” Bon said as he read Leno's treatment records. “The only surviving child among Lentipede's other victims.”
“This could explain why he does not have severe symptoms like Mia. It could be that he developed immunity to Lentipede,”, Joke said while contemplating. There are new facts that he has here.
Bon patted Joke's shoulder. His friend is still dumbfounded on the spot, “I have to make sure what
happened to Leno 12 year ago.”
