Always Read the Manual

An icon flashed on his workstation. He had an incoming wave.

Dorian hadn’t mastered all of the new toys at his disposal, a matter he was certain would be resolved upon cracking open the manual. Thus disarmed, he took the logical path and gave the flashing orb a press.

A small window opened to reveal a smiling Dr. Lao. “Dr. Adler,” she greeted him. “Nice to see that you’re using your equipment.”

“And nice it is,” he nodded. “Our mechanic had tha opportunity durin’ a stopovah. Ah conjure yah’ve got mah reports?”

Lao’s expression took focus. “We did. How’s your REMP patient’s followup coming along?”

Adler checked his records. “She slipped beneath twenty-five rads internally last time Ah checked, two days ago. “Appetite’s good and vitals all read normal…”

“Could you get a full read on her next time? We’d like to review.”

“Of course.”

“I’m also calling,” Lao continued, “in regard to your request concerning psychiatric evaluation of patient 01-299?”

“Yes,” he acknowledged her.

The medical chief’s image was replaced with a document. VMC Psychological Base Evaluations scrolled above a selectable list of the hospital’s standard tests. “Don’t have much for you, sorry to say,” Lao’s face reappeared. “Dr. Jentzen from Psych agreed to consult as possible.”

“Ah appreciate that,” Dorian replied, “but Ah wouldn’t know where tah begin.”

“Record your initial observations,” she instructed, “and send them to us, along with the patient’s treatment recording.”

“Excuse me? Recording?”

“Didn’t read the manual, did you?” she smirked. “You’ve got capture optics in both the big readout screen and your workstation. We set them to free run from first power up til the doctor either figures it out or gets ‘storage full’ warnings. You’ll have to do some rewinding, but you should have 01-299’s full recording.”

“Color me embarrassed.”

“It’s shiny,” Dr. Lao grinned. “I just won a bet. Send it when you can. *Zàijiàn.*” The little window disappeared, leaving Dorian to face the solitary horrors of the users’guide.

After a brief time, he’d found the recorder function and the large, solo file to dissect. The capture images raced past, a high speed reversal of the three patients who’d all been in his chair that day. The medic extracted each clip, and with little difficulty soon had them attached to the patient files of a doe eyed Serena, a ribald Jacy, and the roughed up Vas.

A sizeable file remained.

Idle curiosity took him to the beginning. Closeup of Marisol…her eyes and arms were lifted. The image shifted rhythmically as she turned a wrench. After a last swing to align the picture, she wiped away her smudges and hand prints. Adler watched as the diminutive woman collected her tools and ladder before cutting the lights. He set the playback to fast forward the darkened image, before busying himself with the manual.

After a few minutes’ listless study, a flash drew his eye. The picture now glowed with infirmary lighting. Dorian slowed the capture to watch as Riley and Marisol rummaged his supply shelves and lockers. The pair soon rushed off, equipped with the backboard and the immobilizer kit he’d requested from the Skyhook. As the lights went out, he sped up the playback once more.

Of the remaining file there was just one more flash of light, a moment so brief that he risked missing it altogether. After a few passes of awkward scrolling to and fro, he viewed the entirety. A single figure had entered…

*She bit her lip then checked the door behind her, but she was still alone. Her hands drifted to the decorative clasp holding her hair back…

A few minutes later she left the infirmary.*

Adler viewed the capture once, twice, and then twice again. He followed her motions, the smooth gliding of hands that sought not only to deposit their payload but driven to touch, to imbue themselves with a private sense of power stolen. *Another psych evaluation* he mused in wry thought as his eye traced the path of each touch.

The device itself was no larger than a headache capsule, its’ dull grey finish certain to blend right into the shadow beneath the shelf upon whose underside it clung. After capturing some images and bone scans, he left the tiny intruder in place as he returned to both the workstation and its’ wearisome manual.