They changed up the training, today. The actions, courses, and exercises remained the same, but this time we were required to wear heavy bodysuits and carry our rifles the entire time. They also gave us helmets and oxygen tanks that made everything even more difficult.
I was sweating, panting, and sore after just a half hour of wearing the gear. You'd think that with how much the equipment weighs, it would come with some sort of internal cooling system.
We were told that this is the sort of equipment we'll be wearing at all times while we're exposed to Renewer fog on our rescue operation. Naturally, I asked how long we'd actually be in the fog. I didn't like the answer: indefinitely.
Someone else asked one of the more important questions. How will we use the restroom and eat? The answer is a handy gadget called a dissipator. We'll use it to clear fog from small, sealed off areas. That'll be where we sleep, eat, and do the rest of our business.
Each of us was trained on how to use a dissipator. I wrote down notes for myself, in case I need to use it on my own.
1) Completely seal off a space no larger than 11'x11'
2) Connect the dissipator to an external battery
3) Hook the dissipator up to its tank or run the pump to an outside source, if it is possible to do so while keeping the room completely sealed
4) Do not shut off oxygen or remove helmet until the dissipator has confirmed that it is safe to do so
Today's training made me sore and sweaty, but it also made me extremely nervous. It is now a very real possibility that I'll be going on this mission, since word has still not come back to me from Sara or Heather. We leave on the first of August.
I hope I get that letter, soon. I'm not keen on the idea of heading into the Renewer fog.
[Editor's Note: Darren included a few sketches of the dissipator. I have not seen a device like this, nor have other scholars in the Blue Division. We are conducting research. This device could help us in the fight against skon (referred to as Renewer by Darren).]
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The Imperfect's Journal: 2
Fiction généraleMemory loss, chronic pain, tremors. These three characteristics of Darren Stratt's illness raise the difficulty of Darren's exodus from the United States, a country that has decided he is "subhuman" and "imperfect", just like anyone else the governm...
