Lost Radiance

onscious?… ”

”Let me check. ”

”No, wait! Don touch him! ”

He recognized those voices – Professor Kondo and Yuka. Both of them stared at him intently.

They didn know what to do, but they knew they had to stop whatever they were doing. They moved away from him cautiously and called for assistance.

Two doctors rushed into the lab carrying medical equipment. They checked his vitals and immediately injected him with medication. While they did so, Professor Kondo explained the situation to them.

”We found him on the floor unconscious. No one knows how long ago he collapsed, but apparently no one else was here. We think he may have suffered a stroke or seizure due to the high voltage current leaking from his glove. ”

One of the medics nodded gravely and said: ”Doctor Sakuragi, please examine Mr. Kanos condition. ”

She stepped closer to look at his pupils. Her fingers touched his forehead gently.

”Mr. Kano, can you hear us? ” asked Doctor Sakuragi.

”Yeah, yes. ” His voice sounded distant. ”Where am I? ”

”You
e safe now, sir. ”

The doctors carried Shota to the hospital where he spent three days recovering.

On the fourth day, he awoke early in the morning. He saw Dr. Sakuragi sitting beside him.

”How are you feeling today? ” she asked.

”Much better, ” replied Shota. ”Thanks for taking such good care of me. ”

”Don worry about it. Youve been lucky. Your injuries weren serious. ”

”Why did I faint? ”

Dr. Sakuragi paused briefly and glanced nervously at the doorway. ”Well, the truth is that we don really understand the cause of your collapse. ”

”I mean…what happened exactly? Why did I pass out? ”

”Your brain experienced severe trauma from overstimulation. Overload of neural activity has led to temporary paralysis. Fortunately, your recovery seems to be progressing quite well. ”

Sakuragi stood up and smiled at him. ”Now that your health is stable, lets talk. Can you tell me what you remember before you collapsed? ”

”Hmm…well…before my accident, I was working very hard on my Project— ”

”—and suddenly you fainted. ”

”…yes. ”

”Do you recall anything unusual before that moment? ”

”Nothing specific. Just that I worked on the project non-stop for months. And I wasn sleeping much either… ”

”Well, you will be able to leave soon. Until then rest as much as possible. ”

”Yes maam! ”

As the doctor walked away, Shota stared vacantly at the ceiling. He was sure that someone would come along soon, asking him questions like they always did.

After a while, he drifted back to sleep.

***

Professor Kondo entered Shotas hospital room without knocking and waited patiently for him to wake up.

Shota opened his eyes and saw the professor standing nearby. ”Good morning, Professor. ”

Kondo bowed slightly. ”Its already afternoon. Are you awake yet? How do you feel? ”

Shota rubbed his face and yawned. ”Fine thanks. ”

”Great. Well, Im glad to report that your tests are good. ”

”Really? Did I miss breakfast? ”

”Actually, there hasn been any food served recently. Everyone thinks you might return tomorrow evening. ”

Shota looked surprised and puzzled. ”Oh, sorry. I guess I haven eaten lunch yet. ”

”Ahh…don worry about it. Someone brought you some tea earlier. ”

Shota thanked him politely and drank the warm beverage.

”By the way, ” Kondo added casually. ”Did you notice anything unusual yesterday? ”

”Umm…no. Nothing special. I was working late on the project most nights anyway. ”

”Right. Anyway, let me ask you this: Have you ever seen anyone wearing the Radiance glove? ”

”Huh? ”

Shota blinked and frowned. ”Are you talking about the glove I wore when I fainted? ”

”Exactly. ”

”Is there a problem with it? ”

”…We believe someone might have taken advantage of your absence to steal your technology. ”

”Steal? ” Shota repeated incredulously. ”Who would do such a thing? ”

Kondo sighed heavily and shook his head. ”Unfortunately, we cannot say for certain whether it was stolen or not. ”

”The glove itself isn relevant – its the core mechanism inside it that matters, ” Shota said.

”Precisely. ” Kondo agreed. ”Whoever stole it will probably use it to create something dangerous, especially if they discover how powerful our electricity generator truly is. ”