Chapter 4: The New World
Dr. Avaline slowly opens his eyes. His entire body is weary. His left shoulder and right thigh are completely numb. It's as if they are no longer there.
He can feel the wetness of the water shoving on his skin and the roughness of the sand under his body. That is good news. At least now he knows he is somewhere similar to Earth.
The waves softly crash onto his body, one after the other, rhythmically. It's therapeutic in a bizarre fashion.
The sun is warm, and the water is cool. The wind blows gently, as if it were the hands of a lover caressing your skin. It's a feeling so comforting, so serene, that all he wants is to lie here forever, still and motionless, lost in the peace of the moment.
"No!" Dr. Avaline's eyes open wide. He cannot sleep, because sleep means the end.
The pain forcefully and instantly comes back. It is overwhelming Dr. Avaline's senses and tries its best to drag him down to the gate of hell. He bears the pain, grinds his teeth, and fights the call of death.
Dr. Avaline turns on his stomach. The sunlight fades in his eyes, allowing him to observe the surroundings.
A small, secluded beach spikes out of the edge of the land that is covered by a never ending forest. No sight of civilisation. At least in Dr. Avaline's observable view. The sea is vast and empty, no boats, no ships, no men. And no hope for our scientist.
Dr. Avaline curses. He is lucky enough to land on a habitable version of Earth. However, it's just not somewhere that he can find immediate medical care that can help with these bullet wounds.
"So close,,," Collecting himself and his emotions, Dr. Avaline stands up. His legs tremble due to the absence of power in those muscles. Nevertheless, he manages to stay balanced and finds a sturdy wooden stick to use as a makeshift cane.
Everything happened so fast. He didn't even have time to do basic first aid to his wounds. Well, Aaron did manage to stuff cloths inside to somewhat stop the blood loss, but it is not enough. He had to act fast to save everyone and his legacy.
Blood continues to dribble, further drenching his clothes. Based on the speed and amount of the blood pouring out, Dr. Avaline at least knows that no major vessels were damaged. Still, the danger lies within. If he cannot stop this spilling quick enough, the end will come.
Summoning all the strength remaining in his body, Dr. Avaline drags himself, slowly and steadily, out of the beach and into the thick, dense green wall of leaves in the forest.
There's a small path leading from the beach. The stunted grass spreads to the size and is visibly shorter than other areas. There is a possibility that people step on it regularly, resulting in this phenomenon, a natural forest path. It also, however, can come from other animals. Dangerous one as well. This path is too small for a bear. But big cats, wolves or hyenas are all possible.
Dr. Avaline doesn't even know if this Earth has the same species as his. If it isn't for these injuries, he may be very excited in exploring new environments and possible discoveries of new species.
He walks around and examines a few rocks on the ground. No medical equipment means he needs to make his own. Luckily enough, the forest is the best place for herbs and natural remedies.
Dr. Avaline is able to find a somewhat pointy rock. It has an oval shape, the tip is narrow and slightly edged. It is good enough to break through weak surfaces. He looks around and observes the surrounding trees.
One more good news comes to mind. These are pine trees, extremely similar to those on his own Earth. There may be some minor differences but that would need further dissection and careful examination to confirm. Right now, the only aspect that Dr. Avaline cares about is its sap.
He tears a small cloth out from his inner shirt and uses it to wrap around the rock. It will now be easier to use as a force multiplier.
Dr. Avaline approaches the skinniest and youngest pine tree. He takes a long deep breath. Wasting energy now will be a death sentence, conservation is the key to perseverance. It would be ideal to strike through the tree layer in one go.
His hand tightens on the rock and he slams its pointed edge on the tree. One clean strike. A thick, viscous liquid in brown slowly runs down from the tip of the rock.
Dr. Avaline dips a little bit of the sap on his finger.
With the advancement of information technology, scientists and researchers no longer need to remember all their knowledge by heart. A click of the mouse and a neatly organised hard drive will be enough to store and access knowledge. Additionally, with the creation of Wayne's matrix, this application can be utilised even further. Even though it is nothing to be compared with the Allen engine, the Wayne's matrix proves its usefulness and indispensability throughout repeated uses for both scientists and the common people.
The Wayne's matrix is an offline information framework, which is also a closed off network which can't be hacked or manipulated remotely. It can still be tempered with if one is able to connect to the matrix directly but the risk is much lower than an open online system.
Another brilliant feature is its compact design. A singular, miniature computer measuring fifteen millimetres in length and ten millimetres in width. Inside this small device contains the hard drive, processing chip and neural connector. It is to be inserted in the back of the ear, usually the left ear to correspond to people with a dominant left brain. Some install in the right brain if that is their dominated side.
The surgery is a very painless and short procedure. Normally it takes less than half an hour, after that is a couple of hours of observation to make sure the user does not have any negative reaction and to make any necessary readjustment.
Dr. Avaline takes a close look at the tree sap and smells it intently. Wayne's matrix needs to have enough data to analyse whether this solution is similar to what he is familiar with.
"Faraday, examine this solution." Dr. Avaline whispers. One notable feature of the matrix is that the user can name their artificial intelligence assistant and customise its voice accordingly.
"Processing… Collecting data… Please hold…" A warm, neutral male voice speaks inside Dr.Avaline's head. The matrix can use the senses of the user and data that the brain collects to provide corresponding analysis.
This feature of the matrix is very limited and cannot, however, orchestrate advanced reasoning. But it is enough to help Dr. Avaline in this dim situation.
"Olfactory data analysis: Resinous, earthy, with sharp coniferous notes and faint balsamic sweetness. Match probability to known organic substances: 98.7% conifer-derived exudate.
Visual data analysis: Semi-translucent, amber-to-golden hue; high viscosity; surface adhesion is cohesive, creating persistent strands when separated.
Conclusion: Biochemical signature aligns with Pinus Resinosa secretory compounds. Substance identified as Pinus spp. sap (probability: 99.2%). No further examination required unless contamination parameters exceed thresholds."
"Perfect. The sap is unlikely to be contaminated. Now, I only need some herbs."
Dr. Avaline looks around again.
"Faraday, browsing relevant data about plants. Identify any usable herb for blood loss and wound cleansing. Start scanning the environment for any possible match."
"Processing… Collecting data… Please hold…
Match identified: Specimen corresponds to Achillea millefolium (Common Designation: Yarrow).
Physical attributes: Erect, branching stem; small clusters of white flowers; pinnate, finely divided leaves.
Match probability to known botanical unit: 50.67% (Achillea millefolium).
Action required: Conduct further visual and olfactory assessment to confirm classification."
He limps to the white flower bush and drops down on his knee to examine the plant more closely. Small, white petals within a cluster. If it is yarrow, then it's perfect. But it can also be the poisonous hemlock. There is only one way to make sure it is the correct plant.
Hemlock is notorious for their awful smell. Dr. Avaline inches closer and tries to smell it.
No. It does not smell bad. But he isn't sure.
"Faraday, analyse the plant again. Focusing on determining whether it is hemlock or not."
"Processing… Collecting data… Please hold…
Properties of Hemlock (Conium Maculatum): Hollow, hairless, distinctive purple or reddish spots/stripes stem; umbrella-shaped clusters of small, white flowers; pungent, unpleasant smell.
Properties of scanning specimen: No purple spotting or streaking stem; flat-topped clusters of flowers, not umbels; mild, slightly aromatic smell.
Conclusion: Specimen identified as Achillea Millefolium (99.98%) and not Conium Maculatum (0.00%). No further examination required."
It is not a hemlock. Dr. Avaline breathes out in relief.
He takes a handful of yarrow and carefully picks the small wooden branches off, leaving only the soft content left. He puts it in his mouth and begins chewing while his hands start collecting the tree sap.
Once everything is ready, he mixes the chewed herbs and sap together. The cloth that Aaron previously put in is removed and then the mixture is applied on the bullet wounds. A sharp, burning sensation overwhelms the doctor's senses. This means it is working.
He sits down under a shade and waits. The blood loss stops but he wants to make sure the sap does its thing and begins hardening. It will allow Dr. Avaline to move better. Obviously, it won't completely heal the wounds. But it will be enough to buy him some time.
Dr. Avaline counts for ten minutes and stands up, he has no more time to waste. With the stick in his hand, our scientist begins walking. The wounds are temporarily stabilised, he can now move much faster, greatly enhancing his odds of survival.
Still, no civilisation is in sight. Only the chirping of birds and howling of winds. No matter, he will keep walking and fighting for his life. He will never stop nor surrender to fate.
His mind starts to blur. Time stutters, each step feels like an hour or gone by unnoticed. His body starts to lose its feeling, it's almost as if an evil spirit has taken hold of our dear doctor. It starts with the part of the bullet wounds. His left arm goes first and completely turns into liquid.
He is so hungry. His stomach growls like an angry old cat. Oh, how he yearns for a hamburger. A latte with steamed Austrian goat milk to go with it will be perfect.
Dr. Avaline distributes all the power of the left side of his body to his right side. He uses as much strength as possible to drag himself forward with the cane. His legs are starting to stagger as well.
How long has it been? He thinks to himself. No, he talks out loud. It has only been a few steps, right?
Dr. Avaline no longer recognises the scene around him. The sound of the ocean waves has gone silent for a long time. His perception states that he didn't go that much far but his reasoning concludes that this is not even the same forest.
Large, white boulders are sitting silently everywhere. Grass, dark-green in colour, is short and doesn't even go past his shoes. The path he follows disappeared a long time ago. This is no forest.
He hears a neigh from afar. His blood shot eyes open wide. His vision is bad, he can't even see that far. Everything blurs together as one giant digitised block.
But his hearing is still good. He aims straight toward the sound of the horse hooves. His dry, scorched throat gasps for air. It's as if he is draining all the power from the surrounding oxygen.
And he shouts, with all his being: "Help!"
Before he collapses, he catches a glimpse of the people here. They are equipped with smooth, black armor. Swords on each of their waists and some carry on the side of their horses.
A man jumps down from his horse and walks to the near fainted Curio.
Dr. Avaline holds onto his sticks and looks at the man approaching. Hair of brown reaches his shoulder. A stern face with a thick full beard. Wide shoulders like a bear. He wears sleeveless black armor with padded gambeson underneath. Outside is a fur cloak covering over his figure.
It seems like I have been transported to a medieval world. How cruel. And he faints.