Chapter 68

Episode 68. Project Blue Rose (1)

***

Haa. I stared at the ceiling. This is the hospital bed at Facility 82. When I said my limbs were sore and I was exhausted, the medical department admitted me.

It feels like overzealous loyalty.

The strong fluorescent light illuminated the white ceiling. A ceiling I don’t particularly like. Around me, a bunch of doctors had gathered.

There were really a lot of them.

When I first joined the Foundation, about five people came to do my physical examination.

This time, it felt like the entire medical department had shown up. The head of the medical department was here too. How many department heads alone came?

“Hello, Director.”

I looked at the head of the medical department.

Shin Seung-yeon, head of the medical department. An older doctor with streaks of gray starting to show in his hair.

“How are you feeling?”

“A bit tired. My legs feel weak.”

The head of the medical department pressed his temples.

“It seems like decompression sickness, or more specifically, arterial gas embolism. Depending on where the embolism occurred, recovery might be difficult. We haven’t found a clear issue yet, and we might not find one at all.”

I nodded. I went diving, so decompression sickness. A very common diagnosis.

“Any other discomfort?”

Not really.

“Don’t worry. We’ll run a few more tests in the next few days, and we’ll definitely fix you up.”

Honestly, it doesn’t hurt that much. Just a bit tired. Though I don’t think I’ll be able to carry a military pack and run around anytime soon.

My leg joints are a bit sore too.

“When can I be discharged?”

“We’re thinking about three days for now. If there’s no improvement by then, we’ll resort to more extreme methods to treat you.”

I thought for a moment.

“There’s no need to go that far…”

Never mind. They’ll handle it.

“Good work, everyone.”

“Yes. Thank you, Director.”

The doctors left like that.

***

A conference was held in Director Kim’s absence.

The head of the medical department presided over it, with about ten department heads from various divisions attending. Most of the attendees were doctors from the medical department, but there were quite a few other experts as well.

“Hello, I’m Shin Seung-yeon, head of the medical department.”

A doctor stood at the front of the conference room.

“I believe everyone knows why we’re gathered here. Currently, the Director’s health is not in good condition.”

Everyone knew.

“The conference will cover medical and scientific treatments, but if more time passes like this, we’re prepared to force a recovery if necessary.”

This time, there were some puzzled reactions.

“Let’s proceed with the conference.”

The head of the medical department picked up a laser pointer.

The symptoms Director Kim is currently presenting are fatigue and limb weakness. The cause is believed to be arterial gas embolism from a few days ago.

No past medical history, no known family history, and he was perfectly healthy before the decompression sickness.

He received hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the scene, but after a few days, there’s no specific treatment for this condition. There’s nothing more we can do with conventional methods.

“Arterial gas embolism is a complex condition. The gas embolism disappears quickly, but the symptoms remain.”

The head of the medical department continued.

“The problem is we don’t know where the infarction caused by the gas embolism might occur. In the Director’s case, imaging shows no infarction.”

“In cases of diffuse infarction, it’s very difficult to pinpoint or treat specific damage. Especially since the cause of the symptoms isn’t clear either.”

The presentation went on for a while.

“For treatment, we’re considering steroids, anti-inflammatory painkillers, and lidocaine. None have clear evidence. Any questions?”

The head of orthopedics raised his hand.

“Go ahead.”

“The Director’s musculoskeletal symptoms are likely due to gas bubbles forming in the joints from decompression and perfusion issues caused by surrounding vascular tissue.”

“Good. Any other opinions?”

This time, the head of neurology stood up.

“The musculoskeletal symptoms could also be due to ataxia from diffuse brain damage. In that case, recovery isn’t guaranteed.”

The head of the medical department sighed.

“Then… let’s move on to the main point. We need to decide what to do if we fail.”

***

Dr. Chae began.

“Our metaphysics department proposes this. Starting tomorrow, we’ll select suitable deities and perform human sacrifices to pray for the Director’s health. Until he recovers.”

The head of the medical department nodded.

“That’s insane. Creative thinking, though. Have you done anything similar before?”

“Hmm. There are many records in the Foundation. But I’ve only done it once myself.”

Dr. Chae didn’t explain who the human sacrifices were for.

“Good. Let’s mobilize the disposal team and start tomorrow. Let’s keep going until it works. Next, anyone else?”

Someone stood up.

“Dr. Kim from the macroscopic biology department. We have a definitive solution. Let’s give the Director a placenta injection made from Popo’s placenta. It’s proven effective in animal trials.”

“……”

The head of the medical department coughed.

“You’ve tested that on animals?”

“We injected one placenta injection into rats with various conditions. Most of the rats’ internal diseases were almost immediately cured.”

“Very good. The ideas keep coming. Any other suggestions?”

Advisor An raised his hand.

“Yes, Advisor An.”

“Let’s send him to the Foundation Headquarters. The Headquarters will definitely be able to fix the Director.”

“……”

That’s a bit… The head of the medical department shook his head.

“I’d rather not. Let’s handle it here.”

“Let’s send the Director to Seoul National University Hospital. It’s not perfect, but we might find something else there.”

The head of the medical department sighed.

“Ah… that might work. But let’s not send him to external doctors. Not that I doubt their skills, but who knows what might happen in the process.”

“Next opinion, please.”

The conference room started buzzing.

“Dr. Cheon here. Let’s transplant a Returnee’s heart into the Director. The Returnee’s mana might give the Director strength.”

“Head of the Mechanical Division here. Let’s replace the Director’s heart with a mechanical one or have him wear an exoskeleton suit to function while working.”

“Using the Reality Anchoring Device or the Causality Distortion Device, we could manipulate reality to restore the Director to a healthy state.”

“Contact friendly Hostile Groups, or even those bankers, to save—”

The crazy suggestions kept coming.

“Wait, hold on.”

Lee Se-ah, who had been sitting, scratched her head.

“Research Department Head. Do you have something to say?”

She did. Lee Se-ah stood up.

“Here’s the thing. A person can be tired, but cutting out their heart, injecting substances extracted from gods, performing human sacrifices… the Director is still sane, you know.”

The head of the medical department opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. The Research Department Head was right.

“And, you know we could’ve called the Director to this conference, right? He’s not mentally impaired, and he’s knowledgeable enough to sit here.”

The conference room fell silent.

***

Project Blue Rose. To be precise, the Supernatural Phenomenon Utilization Complex System Blue Rose. Lee Se-ah sighed in her office.

The Foundation’s creed is to prioritize containment over utilization of supernatural phenomena, but that hasn’t been followed for over 70 years.

Most Foundation staff wouldn’t hesitate to use supernatural phenomena for various reasons. The reasons might differ, though.

In fact, a significant portion of the Foundation’s leadership are humanoid supernatural phenomena themselves.

The Foundation has been fighting for a long time. They’ve gradually moved away from what they were trying to protect, becoming more like what they were fighting against.

The Supernatural Phenomenon Utilization Complex Systems are in the same vein.

This is how the Foundation monopolizes and controls magic. They take magic from the world and use it to control the world.

“……”

At least, that’s the Colorless Orchestra’s stance.

In Lee Se-ah’s view, Facility 82’s response was too weak and too late. They should’ve combed the entire country and cleaned out all the Hostile Groups after the Yulje-myeon incident.

Director Kim needs to recover quickly. The greater cause is beyond Lee Se-ah’s concern. The facility can only operate normally once the Director’s health is restored.

“……”

Only a few researchers participated in Project Blue Rose from the start. Now, hardly any remain. As far as Lee Se-ah knows, Dr. Kim’s prototype was also involved.

Does he remember? It’s possible his memories were suppressed or erased, but it doesn’t seem like they were completely wiped.

Doesn’t the Research Department Head remember… too?

Anyway, it’s a bit scary.

***

[Project Blue Rose]

[Author: Lee Se-ah]

[We will bring the sky.]