Chapter 473 Puppetry on an Imperial Scale
473 Puppetry on an Imperial Scale nOvelB1n
I understand it’s difficult, just try your best,] Aceso said, scribbling something on her notepad as she calmly watched Teddy laying on the couch.
The silence stretched on for a while, then Aceso suggested, [Why not start from what’s easy to remember and go from there?]
Teddy nodded, then closed her eyes and started working backward from the moment she regained consciousness. "Well, there was the pain. I think I heard somewhere that you’re supposed to forget pain after it's gone, aren’t you?”
Aceso nodded. [That’s generally the case, yes.]
"Right, well... I remember it....” Teddy continued working back toward the lump of “new stuff” that had been embedded in her brain. “I think I can maybe show you? Can I try that?” she asked.
[Go ahead. Nothing in here can be damaged.] Aceso smiled encouragingly at the young woman.
Although it might seem like it was a good thing for her, as her authority would only last until the shepherd woke up, she didn’t have a single thought of usurping him in her mind. She still needed his help to accomplish her revenge, after all, which was something he had promised her when he personally recruited her.
“That... the...” the doctor stammered.
“That what?” Katarina practically screamed in his face.
“The people in the cubes have medical pods overseeing the process and helping accelerate it. We don’t. And I don’t know why some people are waking up sooner than others or how the whole thing even works!” the doctor exclaimed.
“And without knowing what they know, I can only do my best. Shoot me if you want, but you won’t be able to find anyone else to do my job before your people start dropping like flies! You’ve seen the ones that woke up already, they look like long-term anorexia sufferers because YOU,” he pointed at Katarina and shook his finger at her, "have been ordering me to concentrate on your leader and keep him healthy even if it costs you everyone else! So he’ll be fine!”
“How long?” asked Katarina.
“I don’t know... a week, tops,” the doctor hastily replied. He couldn’t be bothered anymore and was tired of them threatening to kill him. He wished they would just get on with it and do it already; it would be better than the constant fear, anyway.
“A week? Fine. If he doesn’t wake up by next week....” Katarina coldly looked at the doctor, who shivered despite his newfound resolve. Then she turned and walked out of the room, silently closing the door behind her and leaving the doctor to his own thoughts.
In orbit, unlike on the ground, things were going very smoothly. The initial anchor had already begun extending from the “bottom” of Ceres Station, with cameras focused on it from all angles streaming the process live.
Ships were making low passes over the exterior of “Earth’s second moon”, using their tractor beams to vacuum up all of the loose material; other shuttlecraft were flying back and forth from the surface, constantly making round trips with what looked like shipping containers; and giant swathes of constructor swarms were scuttling here and there doing god knows what. The scene was lively, to say the least, and people watching the process live could always find something to focus on as the anchor cable grew longer and longer with every passing minute.