21: One by one, the Defectors who had gotten the chip started falling to the floor where they stood. They were apparently going into a deep coma of some sort. The Defectors who did not have a chip looked to Rend for an answer. "Master, what is going on?"
Rend thought for a moment and it slowly dawned on him what may be the problem. "On Sypraxia, we have a common virus that we call the Scathing. The first symptom is this coma-like state which these people are exhibiting. Think of it as our version of tuberculosis. The virus must be living in those chips that we implanted. Since you humans have not been exposed to it, it seems to be affecting you in a much more serious way than it would one of us." The unaffected Defectors helped put the ones who had succumbed to the Scathing in neat rows lying on the floor. "Now there is nothing to do but wait for their bodies to start fighting the virus. They should recover within a day or two."
When a few hours had passed, their skin became translucent and you could see their veins and muscles underneath. Then their skin dried out and took on a grayish tone. No one knew what to do to help at all. Rend had the unaffected stay away so that they would remain out of reach of the virus. He then had a realization that many of the Defectors had gone into town and were all over Marble Cliffs. People everywhere would be falling victim to the Scathing. Their eyes, visible beneath their translucent eyelids, clouded over and became gray. This was not even the worst of it. After a couple more hours, they stopped breathing and began to get up.
Rend thought for a moment and it slowly dawned on him what may be the problem. "On Sypraxia, we have a common virus that we call the Scathing. The first symptom is this coma-like state which these people are exhibiting. Think of it as our version of tuberculosis. The virus must be living in those chips that we implanted. Since you humans have not been exposed to it, it seems to be affecting you in a much more serious way than it would one of us." The unaffected Defectors helped put the ones who had succumbed to the Scathing in neat rows lying on the floor. "Now there is nothing to do but wait for their bodies to start fighting the virus. They should recover within a day or two."
When a few hours had passed, their skin became translucent and you could see their veins and muscles underneath. Then their skin dried out and took on a grayish tone. No one knew what to do to help at all. Rend had the unaffected stay away so that they would remain out of reach of the virus. He then had a realization that many of the Defectors had gone into town and were all over Marble Cliffs. People everywhere would be falling victim to the Scathing. Their eyes, visible beneath their translucent eyelids, clouded over and became gray. This was not even the worst of it. After a couple more hours, they stopped breathing and began to get up.
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