Patient 17 (Story) (Patreon)

Log:

“Doctor Pearson, can you tell me about Patient 17, the person in this photo?”

“Oh! Oh, of course. Well, as you can see, this photo was taken in 1996, nearly 20 years ago. At that point she had been in our care for exactly seven years.”“How old was she when she was brought to your facility?”“Mmmm, she was twenty-one or twenty-two. When she first came to us she was still an average looking young woman, about to graduate from college. Bright prospects ahead but… ah, she had already begun experiencing the common symptoms of Phase 1 Hyper-Metamorphosis.”“So, what made her special?”“Well, as you know, the colloquially named Hyper Virus changes not just the body, but the brain as well. Symptoms such as increased appetite, sexual drive, and emotional sensitivity are all derived from the virus’s modifications to the brain. In Patient 17’s unique case, as her body transformed into what you see in the photo there, she also began to lose the ability to speak coherently, claimed to have auditory hallucinations, and began to lose fine motor control.”

“Was that related to the Hyper Virus, or was that something else?”“It’s difficult to say if it was solely the Hyper Virus, or if it was a mix of conditions that led to its development. However we scanned and monitored her brain carefully over the next 22 months, alongside her growth and transition of course.

We found that when Patient 17 experienced pleasure, areas of her brain that weren’t normally associated with pleasure would light up in response. As her transition furthered along to Phase 2 and finally Phase 3, it became quite evident that parts of her amygdala and sections of her Broca’s Area- the section of the brain that controls speech- were essentially remade into a greater pleasure center.”“Wow, I don’t know what to make of that.”“Yeah, those of us at the lab… we weren’t exactly thrilled at the possibility that it was a new strain of virus that we were unwittingly subjected to. Eventually we determined that her strain of the Hyper Virus was the same one dormant in all of us, and that she was a unique case.”

“Now, you mentioned she lost her ability to speak. Could she still communicate?”“Of course. We provided her with writing implements, journals, and offered other methods of communication. We encouraged her to write about her thoughts and feelings. But as her condition progressed, she became more and more… despondent.”

Though that’s to be expected. When parts of your being are galvanized just to feel more pleasure, it was no wonder Patient 17 was always in a haze of bliss. You’d think she had become enlightened and transcended this world if it weren’t for what she was communicating to us at that time in her moments of lucidity.”

“Could you summarize some of her feelings?”“So, it’s quite natural for those undergoing Hyper-Metamorphosis to feel anxiety and fear about their situation. Existential doubt, feelings of hopelessness, etc. For most, these are assuaged in time with therapy and assistance programs and are able to live productive lives in society.

Patient 17’s case was so pronounced that it was determined she would not be able to reintegrate, and so we became her new home and family, right up to the very end.”

“Did any of you ever try to… court her?”“Court…? Oh, did we ever try to fuck her? Hahaha. She was the one always trying to fuck us. The tension was always high, and the temptations higher. But there were always two of us at the lab. And then there is the issue of ethics and consent… and look, well, erm, let’s just say that we did everything we could to provide the best care for her.”

End Log

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