We pick up this chapter with Tammy's getting apparently yet another tour of the clinic. All she's done since she's gotten here is play with Skye and tour the clinic, so I'm not sure what there is left to see, but she's off to look it all over again. This time, they start with Dr. Rozak's office.
Tammy’s attention was immediately drawn to three large monitors on the wall. . . . Tammy was amazed by the technology around them. “What is all this?”
“I’m checking the updated medical information on my patients. They’re monitored twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. All results come into my office using our new computer system.”
“You’re kidding me.” She filled her lungs, keeping her focus.Like at the hotel, I feel like Tammy should not be quite as overwhelmed by how amazing this technology is. The set up consists of several monitors and a computer, and a stream of medical information on patients. Isn't that kind of how hospitals work, a lot of the time? People are hooked up to monitors to measure things, and surely these days those things are recorded digitally and are probably visible in real time from another room. This doesn't feel that high-tech to me. But Tammy is so astonished, she literally has to try and remember to breathe.
What kind of clinic do they run where they can't get real-time patient monitoring, but they have an unsolicited video chat option on their website?
Dr. Rozak pulls up information on a patient named Tiffany to show Tammy how the system works. Then we learn that these three monitors are being horribly utilized. The first monitor shows all the patients' names, and if you click on them, you can pull up their full file. The second one loops through each of the patients' files, pausing on each for a minute, to give you updated minute-to-minute information on them. It also alerts you about sudden changes in patient condition, like seizures. This seems a little redundant. There should just be an option on the second monitor to look at anyone's file you want at any time (and then return to the loop) instead of having an entire monitor that is essentially a list of names.
And the third monitor?
“You access the search engine on the third monitor. We’re connected to ten other clinics, twenty-four hours a day, including Leontiou’s Costa Rica lab. I can download any information I need at any time to help my patients.”The Leontious decided it was absolutely vitally important to have an entire monitor devoted to a search engine. Which is not even being accessed most of the time. Have these people not heard of using windows and tabs? Much more efficient than having a separate monitor for every single program you might need to use at some point.
“All I have to do is put in the name of a certain disease. Let’s type ‘Batten’ here. Instantly, every letter or resource with the word ‘Batten’ in it will be displayed.”
“That’s impressive!”Thing #526 Tammy is disproportionately impressed by: search engines.
Dr. Rozak then leaves the Amazing Technical Office and takes Tammy to meet the patients. Morgan and Skye catch up to her but don't tell her anything about Skye's adventure with the reporter who tried to kidnap her. They meet Tiffany, the girl Tammy saw on the screen. She's clearly very sick.
“How much time do you think she has?” Tammy asked, concern written on her face.
“Two months ago, she would have had more time,” Dr. Rozak added....Well, yes. That is how time works.
They allude vaguely to "computer problems" and "hacking" that apparently has done something to shorten this girl's lifespan further. Are they treating this disease... digitally?
(I was complaining about this in RinkChat as I wrote and got this possible answer: "Somebody hacked into a machine she was hooked up to? Or someone hacked into her and changed her lifespan. SHE WAS AN ANDROID ALL ALONG.")
Morgan, Tammy, and Dr. Rozak leave Skye alone to talk to Tiffany, although Tiffany is in the late stages of the disease and is not necessarily coherent of what's around here. Tammy laments that this is sad (which it is).
“My understanding is in the last stage of Batten, dementia sets in, and it’s just a matter of time until her body shuts down.”My main complaint here is "my understanding is..." as if she's not sure she knows what she's talking about. She gave an entire lecture on this at Doctor L. L.'s convention, surely she is confident that she knows the basic progression of the disease. She's hardly an amateur.
Dr. Rozak raves about Skye and how kind she is to all the patients. She has apparently sat with a lot of them as they died, singing and quoting Scripture to them. This is indeed very sweet of Skye, but this conversation awkwardly segues into how Skye is also awesome because she is also tidy.
Also, there's a secret door they saw an old lady being wheeled into the other day, but nobody will tell them what it is or why it's locked, and then Dr. Rozak has to go to the emergency room. He leaves, Lance leaves, and Morgan and Tammy apparently decide there's a conspiracy in the emergency room.
“I’m going to get some answers right now,” Tammy blurted. Before Morgan could respond, she darted toward the emergency room....Couldn't it just be, ya know, an emergency? What makes them think that what they're keeping from them is in the emergency room instead of being the secretive locked door? But apparently there is an emergency room conspiracy, because nobody will let them in. All she can see is that they're working on a patient who might be an adult, and Skye gets to go in, but they don't.
The guards escort them out of the emergency room area, citing an emergency, and then he dumps them in the dining room with this odd exhortation:
“Please enjoy something to eat. This is not your run-of-the-mill cafeteria food. We have a professional chef who prepares the food, nothing but the best.”They've been here like three days. They've eaten here multiple times. Why are they suddenly getting a travel guide intro to the world of the dining room? I have no idea.
To be continued next time with more conspiracy! I hope.
(Chapter 22.)
Please tell me that at some point, someone speaking about the Leontiou compound uses the phrase, "Spared no expense!" Because otherwise, John Hammond's dream died in vain.
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