Henry Willow sat on his bunk, wearing a bright blue robe. Embroidered silver spirals decorated the ends of his loose sleeves, and a five-pointed star hung from a heavy gold chain around his neck. He picked up a console from his bunk and tapped the display with his finger. It buzzed as the comms link connected, and a pale white face stared back at him with small black eyes.
'Dr Francene?' Henry said with a warm smile.
The doctor stared back without expression.
'I'm so pleased you got my message,' Henry said. 'It's taken a while to get through to you. I came to Tower Two to find you, but they said you were no longer there.'
'There'll be a fee,' Dr Francene said. 'I hope you understand that.'
Henry nodded. 'Of course. You must be compensated for your inconvenience. I'm sure five hundred credits will go a long way to helping you find peace within yourself.'
'My fee is one thousand.'
Henry winced. It was far too much. On any other day, he might have refused to pay such a fee, but now that the doctor was finally talking to him, Henry was reluctant to let him go.
'Very well. I'll pay your fee, but only if you supply every piece of information that I requested.'
Dr Francene blinked slowly. His slack jaw barely moved as he spoke. 'I have the visual logs,' he said.
'From the medical centre?'
'Yes, I'm sending them now. The first set are from Tower Two, level 161.'
'That's where Rachel woke from her coma. Do they include the playroom?'
'Yes, they do.'
'And what about Lisa? Do the visual logs show what she did in the playroom?'
'I have no idea what they show. I haven't watched them. I've given you what you asked for. I'll do no more than that.'
Henry rubbed his hands together. 'What about Rachel's medical records?'
Dr Francene nodded. 'I'm sending them now.'
'Is she paralysed?' Henry said.
The doctor turned to his left, squinting into the distance with concern. His dark hair was shot through with grey, and his cheeks hung slack as though they had never been used. When he turned to face Henry once more, his lips moved but his words were inaudible.
'Sorry. I didn't catch that.'
'She was paralysed. She isn't anymore.'
Henry's eyes opened wide. 'You healed her spine?'
Dr Francene shook his head. 'No, I didn't.'
'One of your colleagues then? I'd like to speak to them, if I may?'
'That won't be possible. My staff had nothing to do with her recovery.'
Henry frowned, staring into the console's small display. 'Are you saying she had surgery somewhere else?'
'No. Her injuries were beyond surgery.'
'I don't understand. I thought you said her spine had recovered? What happened?'
The doctor looked down at the floor, dark shadows hanging beneath his eyes. 'We don't know what happened. We've been monitoring her for a long time. As you know, she was attacked with a knife. When we first examined her, we found that the cut had severed some nerves in her spine. We knew there was nothing we could do for her. We put her through the usual physiotherapy, and we gave her medication for the pain, but her recovery has gone far beyond what any of us can explain. Somehow, the nerves in her spine have grown back.'
Henry's cheeks wobbled. 'Grown back?'
'Yes.'
'That's not possible, is it?'
'No, it isn't.'
Henry gazed up at the ceiling as he considered the doctor's words. Suddenly, he started chuckling to himself. 'Oh my word. She's even better than I thought.'
'I fail to see what's funny about it,' Dr Francene said. 'She ignored our recommended treatment programme. She refused our help. She shouldn't have recovered at all.'
Henry nodded to himself. 'But she has recovered, hasn't she? Even our most advanced technologies can't explain everything. Sometimes other factors are involved.'
The doctor looked irritated. 'That's what I said, isn't it? She thinks she's better than everyone else. She said she didn't need our help. Did you know that she's already discharged herself?'
'Remarkable,' Henry said. 'I didn't realise she was capable of so much. Do you think she'll be able to walk in a few months?'
Dr Francene stared straight ahead, wrinkles gathering around the corners of his eyes. He looked suddenly very tired. 'She walked to the auto shuttle without aid. I still don't understand how she did it. She hasn't returned any of my calls. I'm done with this woman. Do you understand? I don't want to speak about her ever again.'
'She walked out on her own two feet?' Henry said, clapping his hands as his eyes sparkled with excitement. 'This is tremendous news. It's far better than I had hoped for. Do you know if she's gone home?'
'Yes, she has. I'm through with this case. Do you understand? I don't want anything more to do with it. Don't contact me again. Just send me the credits. When will I have them?'
'I'll need to go through the visual logs first,' Henry said. 'I need to check that they include the playroom.'
'I've sent you everything that you asked for. I want my credits.'
'You'll get them after I've checked the logs.'
Dr Francene's cheek twitched and thin creases appeared across his brow.
'Don't worry, Doctor. You'll have your credits by the end of the day. You must know that I am a man of my word.'
Dr Francene nodded, leaning forwards. He raised one hand and ended the comms call.