21st September
14:01 GMT +9
Thana is awkwardly shifting her weight from side to side.
"Do you see-."
"Yep. Soul's back in his body, but he hasn't regained consciousness y-
"
The gloop in the Pit suddenly
churns.
"-et, no, there we-
"
Captain Gwak's head and frantically flapping arms appear above the surface. "GRAAAAAGHHH!"
"-go. Captain Gwak?
"
"Aaagh!" More upright now, he wades to the edge and- "Rwraggh!" -beats on my construct barrier.
"Allow me.
" I extend a hoist construct from the barrier around his armpits and lift him out of the Pit.
"Physical reconstruction appears perfect.
" A wave of orange light passes over his body as I clean off the residual gloop and deposit him on a platform construct.
"Heart is beating, lungs are breathing, brain activity is.. as predicted for a man in his state of mind. Digestive tract is empty, but otherwise in good condition. Production-
"
"Aaaagh!"
Captain Gwak is hunched over, flailing awkwardly at the barriers surrounding him. Yes, hysterical strength, but nothing I can't manage.
"-of digestive enzymes appears to have only just started. Eyes are unfocused, but again-
"
"You are.. bringing the dead back to life?"
Missus Ran is breathing a little faster, her eyes unconsciously widening as she regards the formerly late Captain.
"We're studying techniques that can be used to that effect, yes. I prefer to think of it as a
code white resuscitation. Are you back with us, Captain?!
"
"What-?
Wha-?" He stares wildly around, a degree of purpose and reason returning to his eyes.
"Are you with us, Captain?
"
He's shivering, arms wrapped around his knees.
"Nyssa, how long does this usually take?
"
"He's doing reasonably well. Thana?"
Thana raises her hands in a placatory gesture. "He is not dead, and no signs of his death still mark him. I'm afraid that healing the living has never been my occupation."
"Good show. Mistress Beulah?
"
She dismisses her fires and conjures a witch sign I don't recognise. "He lives, is in goodly health, and there are no magics upon him which might shorten his days."
"Thank you. Euanthe?
"
"You told me that I had to cover my body. Why does he not have to cover
his?"
"Because this is -technically- a medical procedure, and the Pit may well have destroyed them.
Captain?
"
"Who-? Who are you people? What happened?"
"Well done.
" I remove the constructs other than the platform and then float it down to the ground before dismissing it.
"Do you remember your name?
"
"Gwak Him-chan, Captain of the National Army of Rhelasia. Who are you? And.. where are my clothes?"
"Allow me.
" I take a white cotton shirt, a pair of trousers and a pair of wooden-soled sandals out of subspace and apply them to his body.
"I am the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. You've heard of Green Lanterns?
" He checks his clothes, then nods.
"Same idea. Do you know what year it is?
"
"Twenty oh nine. What do you mean, 'what year is it'?"
"Thana?
"
Thana walks pointedly into his field of view. "Captain, do you recognise my voice?"
"No, I don't-!" Something occurs to him, and I watch the frustration on his face shift to
amazement and then
horror. "I was..
dead. I…"
"Yes?"
"
My father's spirit spat on me.
My mother's spirit spat on me.
My grandparents…
All of my ancestors…" He collapses to his knees.
"I am a Worm. A lowly insignificant Worm."
I kneel down in front of him and place my right hand on his left shoulder.
"You are now a Worm with a second chance. I would most firmly advise to make the most of it, because there will not be a
third.
"
Ashen-faced, he nods stiffly.
"Mudang, I believe that I can now pass this one into your care.
" I stand and step away to allow her access, taking a large baguette out of subspace as I do so and passing it to her.
"He'll probably get hungry fairly soon, so-.
"
"You
brought a man back from the dead!"
"Yes. Look, your religion involves communicating with the spirits of ancestors, yes?
"
"… Yes."
"So you know that there is conscious existence after physical death. Yes?
"
"Of course, but-. This is… Something out of
fiction!"
"Where I come from,
superheroes are fiction. There is conscious existence after death. There are ways of communicating with the dead. A person's corpse is a strong tie between the spirit and the world of the living. You know all this.
" A stiff nod.
"We're not quite sure how or why this works, but for some people it is possible to take advantage of those facts to restore them after their deaths. For a time, at least.
"
"What am I supposed to tell my superiors?!"
"If they're materialistically inclined, tell them that I was able to restore his body based on his genetic structure and surviving brain pathways, and once that was done restarting him was simple.
" She nods.
"And if they are
spiritually inclined, then say that the Holy Mother decided to give this sinner a second chance. But… Perhaps keep him away from temptation this time?
"
She nods, then steps past me to kneel down in front of Captain Gwak. I head towards Nyssa as she takes a post-resurrection sample.
"Well?
"
"Dead. Resurrecting him drained the energy which the Pit uses."
I nod thoughtfully, looking around at the surrounding forest.
"Which doesn't affect the trees at all. Curious.
"
"My father's original Pits were created in deserts. Plants are not necessarily a sign of geomantic energy."
I nod again before raising my rings and pointing them at the now-defunct Pit.
"Right then. I'll clean this up, then it's on to Malaysia.
"
