(no subject)
They did not bring Aral to the hospital; the galatic medical technology available on Sergyar is so compact and portable that, as with the mystery plague last year, it was easier to bring the hospital to him. The unspoken assumption behind it is what hurts. His own bed might be better than unfamiliar surroundings, is what nobody says. The fall was trauma enough. Best to avoid unnecessary strain; after all, he's an old man.
The fall was trauma enough, and she finds the truth of that blackly comic. This man has survived so much worse, so many times; from the slaughter of his mother and brothers when he was eleven, through galactic wars, poisonings, and political skirmishes both figurative and literal, down to arterial aneurysm just a few years ago. Survived? Triumphed, frequently with completely inadequate resources beyond his own inner strength. And now he lies there, silent and terrifyingly weak, brought low by a misstep halfway down a flight of stairs.
The Viceroy's Residence now holds the best medical personnel and equipment on the planet ... and Aral still hasn't opened his eyes.
The fall was trauma enough, and she finds the truth of that blackly comic. This man has survived so much worse, so many times; from the slaughter of his mother and brothers when he was eleven, through galactic wars, poisonings, and political skirmishes both figurative and literal, down to arterial aneurysm just a few years ago. Survived? Triumphed, frequently with completely inadequate resources beyond his own inner strength. And now he lies there, silent and terrifyingly weak, brought low by a misstep halfway down a flight of stairs.
The Viceroy's Residence now holds the best medical personnel and equipment on the planet ... and Aral still hasn't opened his eyes.