The days pass and our efforts to treat Moonlight Syndrome continue.
Dr. Haibara's treatment methods have shown some positive results, but they're starting to lose what basis they had in medical science and are increasingly muddled with superstition and folklore.
He's putting more and more emphasis on his own ideas and the legends of the island.
Frankly, I doubt the efficacy of such methods. I've never seen such treatments applied to a neurological condition. In particular, the macabre apparatuses he uses are unlike anything I've ever seen used at any other hospital.
What I find more disturbing, though, is the bizarre terminology used in this hospital. These are not standard medical terms. For instance, intermediate-stage Moonlight Syndrome patients present symptoms where they fear their own reflection in mirrors or water. In the folklore of Rogetsu Isle, this phenomenon is referred to as "budding."
The patients may be seeing their own faces reflected as something entirely different. Whatever the nature of the symptom, I wish they would call it a "hallucination" or a "phobia." Rather than use a proper medical term, this superstitious "budding" word is used by the infirmary staff on a daily basis.
Apparently, patients who see a "budded" face (visible only to themselves) also "bud."
Then there's "blossoming." I don't know the specifics of this symptom, but I have seen the color drain from people's faces at the mere mention of the word. From the sound of it, I doubt it has anything to do with botany...
They say that those who see the faces of people with severe cases of Moonlight Syndrome "resonate" with them and become afflicted with the syndrome themselves. Is this "budding"?
Whatever the name for it, how is it even possible for a neurological condition to be transmitted?
Before coming here I wouldn't even have entertained such a possibility, but Moonlight Syndrome may somehow be contagious.
On top of all this, I've been asked to make preparations for a "rite" to be held tomorrow. What kind of procedure it is, I don't know. How did it come to this? The whole affair has left me sick at heart.
Haibara's Assistant's Notes (3)
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Haibara's Assistant's Notes (3) | |
| |
| Kanji | 助手の手記 三 じょしゅのしゅき さん |
| Game | Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse |
| Author | Shoji Katagiri |
| Chapter | Phase III: Lost Day |
| Located at | Haibara Infirmary, Medical File Room |
| Obtained | On the desk by the phone. |
| Description | Talks about folk medicine. |
| Additional Description | There's something on the desk. |
| Related Notes | Haibara's Assistant's Notes (1), Haibara's Assistant's Notes (2), Haibara's Assistant's Notes (4), Haibara's Assistant's Notes (5), Haibara's Assistant's Notes (6) & Haibara's Assistant's Notes (7) |
月幽病治療の日々が続く。
灰原先生の治療法は
一定の成果を上げている様子だが、
医学的根拠からは逸脱しており、
戸惑いを覚える。
灰原先生は、独自の治療や
この島の風習、
伝統療法を重んじる傾向にある。
特に、特殊な器具を使った治療は、
他の病院では決して見られないものだ。
それ以上に違和感があったのは、
医学用語でもない、
この病院で使われている言葉だ。
症状が中度の患者は、
鏡や水など自分を映すものを
怖れるような行動を見せることがある。
そのそぶりからして、患者たちには、
鏡に映る自分の顔がまったく
違ったものに見える瞬間が
あるのかもしれない。
島では、このことを
「芽吹く」と呼んでおり、
その言葉は、病院の中で日常的に
使われている。
また、「咲く」という症状を
極度に怖れている。
これはどのような症状なのかわからないが、
「咲く」という言葉に反応し、みな顔色を変える。
どうやら、自分自身にしか見えない
「芽吹いた」者の顔を見て
「芽吹く」ことらしい。
もちろん、言葉の感じから、
単純に「芽吹いた」だけではないだろう⋯
症状の重い他の患者の顔を見て、
その症状が うつってしまうことを
「共鳴（ともなき）」と言っているが、
その激しいものなのではないだろうか。
考えにくいが、伝染するような
月幽病があるのかもしれない。
⋯そして、先生が明日から
私に準備させようとしている
「きらいごう」とは一体どんな治療なのか？
私は何をすればいいのか？
とても不安だ。