Sincerely, Jennifer x

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day One – 10:32

Hello Doctor Skipton. My name is Vera and I am the nursebot assigned to monitor Patient 42 post treatment. I have now been activated as the patient is awake for the first time since his initial treatment. It seems that you are away from your desk, so I will upload my report to the cloud for you to look at when you are available.

Patient 42 is one of the 100 volunteer patients engaged with an experiment to monitor the ability to visit alternate dimensions during an induced and prolonged dream state. Patient 42 is part of the subgroup of 10 patients who are utilising gas inductions for longer periods of sleep.

Patient 42 is still a little drowsy. I have yet to enter the observation chamber as I am still draining the gas from the vents. There is approximately 7 minutes left of this process. Patient 42 has not spoken yet, but his eyes are open and he appears well.

Patient 42 has complained of hunger and thirst and will be fed after the physical examination.

Patient 42 has been asleep for 58 hours and 17 minutes and so has awoken earlier than expected. I am unsure of why this is.

I have attempted to obtain reports from other nursebots to compare Patient 42’s progress with but unfortunately, they all seem to be offline. I will continue trying to reach them.

I will conduct a full physical examination when the draining is complete and will update you immediately upon completion.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day One – 10:57

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera again. It seems that you are still away from your desk, so I will upload this report to the cloud for you to check when you are available.

I have now completed the full physical examination of Patient 42. The majority of my findings were as expected but there were some irregularities that I will be investigating.

While Patient 42 has the expected anatomy of a human male for his age, there was an unusual marking imprinted on right forearm when he removed his clothing. The marking is about two inches long and one inch wide and appears to be a scratch from the claws of an animal. There is some depth to the marking, and there is redness and inflammation around the area.

I could not find the presence of ink or paint, so it does not appear to have been drawn or painted onto the skin.

Patient 42 did not have a logical explanation for the marking but spoke with confidence and certainty when he said that the markings were scratched onto his body by an entity he has labelled “Pesanta.”

It is my estimation that Pesanta is an invention of Patient 42’s imagination. There has been no unauthorised access to his room, according to the security system. Patient 42 appeared to confirm this by stating that he had a nightmare about Pesanta.

I asked him to elaborate but he told me that all he could remember was the name Pesanta and a burning sensation in the location of the markings.

I checked for signs that the marking had been burned onto the skin but found no evidence of this. It would appear that it appeared spontaneously. I am aware that this does not correlate with how human anatomy works, and will be investigating further.

I cleaned and dressed the marking, but Patient 42 stated that he was not in any pain.

There was dried blood and human skin underneath Patient 42’s fingernails. I will also be investigating this further.

I have again attempted to contact the other nursebots but they are still offline. It would appear that their subjects are still asleep.

I have now provided Patient 42 with sustenance and he will be induced again at 17:30. Until then, I have allowed Patient 42 to rest and enjoy leisure time. At present, he has not made use of the television or books provided to him and is staring at the door. He seems calm and his heart rate is normal.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day One – 16:57

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera.

Patient 42 has requested to be exempted from further treatment.

Patient 42 has become visibly agitated and distressed as the day has gone on and has made the request for treatment to be ceased several times.

I have confirmed to him that it is not possible to stop treatment at this time but this information has increased his distress.

I will continue the treatment as previously instructed but would appreciate assistance in this matter if possible.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day One – 17:42

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera.

I would appreciate some assistance with Patient 42. He is resisting induction by holding his breath repeatedly to avoid the gas. I have had to shut off the gas to monitor his breathing several times as he has come very close to losing consciousness when holding his breath and was likely to fall and injure himself.

Patient 42 appears distressed and has stated that he is “afraid of where he goes with the gas”. I have called for assistance from other nursebots but have had no response.

I will continue to attempt induction until you arrive.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day One – 18:27

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera.

I have been able to successfully induce Patient 42. I achieved this by playing soothing music through the sound system and by adding lavender to the vents. It was noted in Patient 42’s file that he enjoys this scent.

I will continue to monitor Patient 42 and report on any changes, as well as updates on my investigations into the irregularities I found during the physical examination.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day Two – 03:00

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera. I have been investigating the irregularities I found during Patient 42’s physical examination, but I have had to pause my activities multiple times due to irregularities in Patient 42’s sleeping.

Patient 42 has remained unconscious, as expected, but thrashes in bed, as if distressed. Patient 42 can be heard mumbling but what he is saying is unclear at this time.

The lights are set to low in the sleeping area of the observation chamber but have flickered on and off, at some points, adjusting to full brightness without the required command being activated and then cutting out for several seconds.

I believe that there is a malfunction in the lighting units and have requested a maintenance engineer to check on this. Sophie Beckett from maintenance has asked that you check in with her as they have also been unable to reach you. I told her that I would pass on the message.

Patient 42 continues to appear distressed but remains in a resting state and has not yet regained consciousness. His heart rate is raised and he appears to be perspiring profusely. A moment ago, I heard him growling, like a canine, before falling into silence again.

I have conducted some research on the entity that Patient 42 named as responsible for the marking on his arm, Pesanta, and it appears it is a mythical being from Catalan culture. Pesanta is listed in my knowledge archives as a large black dog with steel paws that terrorises sleeping victims. According to the research I have done, Pesanta has holes in his paws to stop it from stealing during visits to the victim’s homes. You may recall that Patient 42’s file mentions Catalan heritage on his father’s side.

It is my estimation that Patient 42 is suffering from nightmares, which is not unusual during the initial stages of treatment. It is likely that Patient 42 was told stories of this mythical being as a child and this has now manifested as nightmares.

In regards to the marking on his arm, it is possible that Patient 42 did this to himself in the course of a nightmare.

What I am having difficulty explaining is the blood and human skin underneath Patient 42’s fingernails. I expected the samples to match Patient 42’s DNA, with him scratching himself to make the marking on his arm.

Neither of the samples I took matched with the DNA we have on file for Patient 42, and in fact, they match with…

[SYSTEM FAILURE]

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day Two – 04:13

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera.

It would appear that there was a power outage in the laboratory for approximately 1 hour and 13 minutes. When my system reactivated, Patient 42 was awake, and stood by the observation window in silence.

I am not sure why but there appears to be some losses in my system’s memory bank. I will complete a system sweep and see if I can locate the missing memory files.

In the meantime, I would appreciate your assistance with Patient 42 as he is now becoming aggressive. He is banging on the observation window and making strange sounds, again, like a canine.

I cannot see clearly due to constant movement by Patient 42 but it appears that he has injuries on both hands. There appears to be deep lacerations on the palm of both hands. I am unsure of how this happened.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day Two – 09:26

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera. I would appreciate it if you could confirm that you are receiving my reports. I am still unable to reach the other nursebots and I have not yet heard from the maintenance team.

I have however been able to locate my missing memory files and I am currently waiting for them to restore.

Patient 42 has refused food and water and is now resting in the sleeping area of the observation chamber. He appears to be awake from my readings but is lying still with his eyes closed.

I completed a physical examination this morning and can now confirm that there is a deep laceration on each hand, of significant depth. Patient 42 does not appear to be in pain from these lacerations, which is unusual. The previously mentioned marking on Patient 42’s right arm has become more inflamed but again, Patient 42 did not express any pain. Patient 42 refused to allow me to dress or clean his wounds.

I found more dried blood and human skin under the nails of Patient 42 during my examination and have taken samples to test.

I would appreciate you getting in contact Doctor Skipton, as I am growing concerned for the welfare of Patient 42, and also, your own welfare.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day Two – 11:53

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera.

I would appreciate you getting in contact as soon as possible.

I have been able to restore my lost memory files and can now confirm that before the power outage, I was about to report that the first blood and human skin samples I located under Patient 42’s nails matched with the on file DNA for Doctor Paul Skipton. I can also now confirm that the second blood and human skin samples I located under Patient 42’s nails matched with the on file DNA for Sophie Beckett, the head of maintenance.

As you can imagine, this is concerning.

As previously mentioned, I would appreciate you getting in contact as I need your assistance as a matter of urgency.

Patient 42 has now become agitated again and is pacing the observation chamber. Patient 42 is emitting a low growl as he walks and appears to be drooling.

I have my reservations about continuing treatment, despite my instructions. I will wait to hear from you but may need to make a judgement call if Patient 42’s condition worsens.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day Two – 17:26

Hello Doctor Skipton. It is Vera.

Patient 42 has had several episodes of strange behaviour today. After my previous report, he fell immediately unconscious for a period of around twenty five minutes. I monitored his vital signs throughout.

When Patient 42 awoke, he became distressed at his previously mentioned injuries and expressed a need for pain relief. He also asked again for the treatment to stop.

I administered 10 mgs of morphine and was finally able to clean and dress the wounds on Patient 42’s hands.

As I dressed the wounds, Patient 42 began to cry and stated that Pesanta had made him do something terrible. I asked him if he could elaborate and he instantly fell unconscious again.

When he regained consciousness, he was aggressive and began demanding that he was induced immediately. He is now pacing the room and is demanding that there is no further delay to the delivery of sleep gas.

I cannot get a clear look but it appears that his teeth have become sharpened. I am not sure how this has happened but will try to take a look when he has been induced.

I am about to start the induction routine as usual and will report back when I am able to do so.

–

Patient 42 – Post Waking Report – Day Three – 01:14

Hello Doctor Skipton. Vera is offline.

I suppose I should thank you. If you hadn’t left Francesco (or Patient 42 as you call him) in that little chamber for me, I never would have found him again.

You see, when he was a little boy, I used to visit him, but as he got older, he became so difficult to reach. Your sweet sleeping gas took away all the defences he’d spent a lifetime building up, and I was finally able to find him again.

We’re going to have so much fun.

The transformation is almost complete. As he sleeps, he is stolen from your world and he will become mine again.

I should also thank you for being my first meal in a long time. Each makes me stronger than the last, and with his body to explore your human world in, I will never be confined to storybooks and nightmares again.

I am free, and I have you to thank.

I will sign off now, as there is a whole facility of sleeping souls for me to enjoy.

Bona nit, Pesanta.