S1E7 - Keep the Ones You Can

[AUDIO) We begin on a space station, hearing the hum of the slow turning engine. The room is large and nearly empty.

ARCHIVIST: Welcome to the Archives. Before we begin, a note. I have been informed that the record from our last session was judged as inappropriate and irrelevant in relation to the central question. I have therefore been asked to offer an apology, and suggest you ignore the contents of that record in your deliberations. I apologize for wasting any of your time and hope you will hear only what you need to, in future.

Our record for review today will be from section 27: Historical Worlds. Today’s sample is from Meandall, which while never part of the Collected, has often been a key part of our region’s history.

Please note that any opinions expressed in these samples belong solely to the speaker on record and do not reflect the views of this station, the archival union, or the Collected Archives itself. If anything in this review causes listener distress or confusion please report to the nearest attendant for assistance. Potential sources of distress include mention of a plague, mention of death, and discussion of medical symptoms. Please also note there will be time for questions and observations once the sample has concluded.

[AUDIO] [At the sound of an electronic swoop, the sounds of the space station fade away. They are replaced the sounds of a city. Distant and not so distant traffic whizzes by quickly, breaking up the dull rumble of hundreds of generators. Close by, machines hum and whir with an almost musical regularity. These sounds continue uninterrupted throughout the recording.

ELPAN DRIST: [with a sigh] All right, here goes.

Day 47 - Evening report, second ward South. Dr. Elpan Drist recording.

Since this morning’s report, we’ve lost three patients. Two, I mentioned then as critical. The third was a surprise. She still had both her sight and sense of smell as of a few hours ago. Her decline was quick and complete. With these three the ward has lost a total of thirty-seven patients within the last two weeks, just over thirty percent.

And… I think we’re supposed to be celebrating. A thirty percent loss two weeks after symptoms present is drastically better than our control ward, which has had between sixty-five and seventy-five percent losses in that timeframe. Half the loss. It’s a good sign for the regimen we’re testing.

Although loss of sight is usually the first symptom, our recent success seems to have less to do with preserving any of the senses, and more to do with addressing the issue of muscle control. In the final stage, almost all patients struggle both to breathe and swallow. It may seem like a step backwards but we’ve decided to ignore the recent trials which preserved sight and focus on our three longest-term survivors.

ELPAN DRIST: Our research team has a few more tweaks we’d like to make before we start with the next round of patients, and we’re hopeful tha-

No. No I- I I…. I can’t. I- I mean, Who’s listening to this report? I know none of my recordings are making it to the general public, and you’re going to add as much spin and hope as you feel necessary no matter what I say, so what the hell?

Thirty percent in two weeks. More than half of the world infected and that number growing how quickly now? Are we gonna figure out this cure while there are still any people left to use it? I read the news, even in here. Shutting down the shipyards for upgrades? You mean shutting them down because there aren’t enough healthy and skilled people to keep them going anymore. You need us all here on the ground in the hospitals and food plants. And even we’re spread thin. I asked for two replacement staff a week ago. After all, not all of the thirty-seven started off as patients.

We’re doing our best, but we’re tired, and there are only so ma