S-2878 • L5 Ligaluna • D08 Lilibe
"Ligaluna binds sky and path.
Lilibe spills brightness in a gentle curve.
The tide sings clearly on the world's skin.
The story weaves its step in rising light."
The announcement of spring.
Skies dotted with white clouds.
The warm wind, caressing the skin, swept away the melancholy of winter, making everyone more talkative.
More open to the ardor of long, colorful days.
The young, burning to live, quickened their rhythms.
The city seemed to wake from a long sleep.
People laughed louder.
Zenith's districts vibrated in pastel tones.
Pixelated flowers covered the streets of Zenith and Centrália, the symbol of the season.
This was also the seluna of the selunary meeting at Santa Geordana, a gathering about the research conducted in the hospital, more stressful than the meeting with the CMG.
The reason?
Josivaldo.
I organized the documents and called Takashi.
We went to the meeting room.
The Witch watched over me, decanting my feeling and choosing only what mattered.
Some researchers were already present.
Josivaldo sat at the head of the table, eyes lowered, analyzing a holoscreen.
Once the ten chairs were filled, he lifted his head.
Silence.
Takashi stood behind me, just as the other androids stood behind each doctor.
Daren, across the table, gave me a friendly look.
I returned it with a slight nod.
Josivaldo placed his hands on the table and hid his thin lips behind his index fingers.
"Welcome to our selunary meeting."
A holoscreen behind him glowed with the same words.
"Santa Geordana has always prided itself…"
Honestly, I knew that speech.
My mind wandered, until I heard my name:
"We'll begin with Doctor Akiko Akiyama."
His tone sounded acidic.
Asshole.
In front of them, he pronounced it right?!
"She is conducting the only Level A project in our hospital."
He gave a few limp little claps.
"You may begin, Doctor."
He looked at me for an instant, long enough to evaluate me, short enough to dismiss me.
I stood and greeted the others with a nod.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for being here.
First, I'd like to thank my colleagues on Project Jaburu.
Aimee Hughes, responsible for technical supervision of the equipment;
Vicente Evans, responsible for patient administration."
Brief applause.
I sat down and presented the research overview.
Aimee and Vincent gave a short explanation:
"We are waiting for MemorElevate to arrive from London.
It connects a substance that stimulates hippocampal synapses, prolonging and storing memories regardless of complexity.
In theory, CogniSynth will surpass the natural brain by archiving every memory with absolute precision.
With this, we complete the nanodevices connected to Project Jaburu."
Aimee smiled shyly at me.
I nodded in thanks.
She sat down.
Whispers popped around the room.
Josivaldo cleared his throat, silencing everyone.
"Very well. Thank you for the presentation."
He didn't even look at us.
"Dr. Daren Kyungu, who is conducting the next research project, will enter the testing phase.
You may begin now."
Daren stood.
He gave a quick bow with his usual warmth.
"Thank you very much, everyone.
I want to reiterate my admiration for Doctor Akiyama."
The entire room looked at me.
"Project Jaburu is revolutionary.
And with her help, I advanced ApexNull.
I'm grateful for that."
What?
Did my name really need to be in this?
Applause followed.
I waved awkwardly.
That caught me off guard.
"Right. The research aims to co-weave the ApexNull nanodevice, designed to implant the Rh-null blood type to treat Apoxirameno Aima disease, popularly known as Vaktiria."
Images of the bacterium appeared in the holoprojection.
"It is the deadliest infectious disease, responsible for 43.5% of global deaths.
It comes from a new bacterium, Siccunsanguine Bacteria, discovered in 2849 with the first infected patients.
It is untreatable and incurable."
Daren gestured.
"It feeds on blood composition, causing the progressive destruction of blood.
It takes about three solar cycles to reach the final stage, when it affects the brain and heart.
Patients end with organ failure and dried-out blood vessels.
Death is inevitable."
Daren enlarged the image of Rh-null.
"However, when we analyzed the bacterium in this blood factor, we discovered something.
It dies instantly.
Rh-null is immune to the disease."
He continued with a long explanation.
I ignored it.
My bioscreen vibrated.
📩 Maia:
Meet me at the end of the central street in Bapaesa, at nine.
I smiled rather foolishly, despite having no idea where that was.
My heart beat harder.
As always, Maia knew how to pull me out of automatic mode and always found a way to surprise me.
"Excellent, Kyungu."
Josivaldo's voice pulled me back.
"We'll submit the request to solicit candidates.
By next seluna, the testing phase will begin."
The meeting lasted two more long hours.
Other presentations.
I just wanted to get out of there.
Finish work.
The meeting finally ended.
I went to my office, but before I could close the door…
"Akiyama."
Daren.
I took a deep breath.
What did he want this time?
"How can I help you?"
He smiled.
"I want to repeat my thanks.
And, please…"
Daren lowered his voice.
"Pass my gratitude on to whoever provided the samples.
The shipments are no longer needed."
He winked and left.