[Voice]

[espigeonage]

[Julien considered making another text post. In the end it's audio, his voice heavy with resignation but calm. You would not know he had a breakdown over this.]

So you know, Numbers Club, Doctor Aaron Strider's gone off-network. Again. Looks like it happened a couple days ago. Somehow, the athelas plants are still around, but none of the other stuff. I'll have to test to see if they still have their - properties.

[he sighs, careful not to let it get too deep.] I know we have this... unwritten policy of just letting people be when this happens, let them get on with normal lives. But I talked to him last time about what's going on. I talked to him again now, and honestly I'm going to keep him informed when I can. I'll swear by whatever you want that he's not going to the police with anything, and he doesn't really share information period. Well, we know that. [A tinge of bitterness showed there, just for a second.]

If you can't go to a normal hospital or wherever, you can still come here, to the LSR. Doesn't matter if he's in or not.

Comments

[text]

[amberhearted]

[ alex imagines it might be a bit of a challenge to keep aaron out of the loop on network events when he co-runs the one medical center trusted by the bulk of the network, so... ]

I'll support that decision. I'm glad he's still willing to help us out.

[espigeonage]

Thanks.

Yeah we'd discussed it in the summer, and then again after he sort of came back. And the stuff I told him and showed him last time he was off-network, he remembered that. So.

Idk what I'm trying to get at. But he won't betray us, and he'll help where he can.

[text]

[healspec]

[...uncomfortable pause @ that brief bit of bitterness, tho.]

I will second that he still is trustworthy, memories or no.

And if you need someone who will understand firsthand about pulses, you can ask for Dr. Solus or Surya. We still are here.

[espigeonage]

[Aaron apologized to him a few weeks ago. Which he's glad of. Really! But that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Or that he doesn't have lots of conflicting feelings running strong right now.]

Yeah. And you two both have sort of medical pulses, anyway.

[healspec]

Sort of. I don't know if I would call holy magic 'medical'.

[espigeonage]

It's got kind of a medical utility. Or something like that.

[healspec]

Ah, that much is true.

And the way it works, I think it would be very harmful in the hands of someone without good medical understanding.

[espigeonage]

Yeah? Tell me a little about it? Akito, he got my ribs fixed, his seemed to be pretty point-and-shoot. For lack of a better term.

[healspec]

It seems to use natural healing as a template, but if I only followed the template, it would leave behind a lot of scar tissue. To do it well requires very careful guidance.

[espigeonage]

So that training and schooling you've had makes a definite difference here. Can you use the magic to idk... sense whatever's wrong?

text

[dragon_blossom]

i'll keep it in mind. thanks.

[espigeonage]

Not planning to get hurt, I hope.

[dragon_blossom]

did that once, got healed, staying out of trouble

[espigeonage]

Good. Was the healing complete? Any soreness or marks left?

[dragon_blossom]

it even healed my clothes. very thorough.

[espigeonage]

That's pretty odd. Bloodstains?

[dragon_blossom]

cleaned em. seriously amazing.

[espigeonage]

And very convenient. That kind of thing could be useful. Who was the healer? When did this happen?

voice

[bibliofilo]

Going off the network? Sorry if you've gotten this question a lot but what exactly do you mean?

[espigeonage]

That's all right.

I mean someone who's lost all their pulses, can't see the network anymore, and doesn't remember all the weird things that've been happening. Become normal again, basically. It happens if you get too far from the city, and... sometimes just for no reason like this.

[bibliofilo]

I've heard about what happens when someone crosses the border--I've been meaning to try it out myself honestly--but not this. You said that it happened again. Does this mean it's just something temporary?

[espigeonage]

I don't know. With this - sometimes people start to remember again. Get everything back. It can be a week later, or months. A lot of people just... haven't. I don't think there's a way to just make it happen.

[bibliofilo]

That's a little frightening. Does that mean they forget everyone they met through the network too?

[espigeonage]

It is. And... it depends. I think if you've spent time with someone talking about non-network things, face to face or on something normal, they tend to remember you. But I haven't made a study of it or anything.

[bibliofilo]

There'd be no easy way to test that for sure, I suppose. Does this happen a lot?