Chapter 129
The Visible Patients
The patients walked into daylight.
Some called family members. Some had no one to call. Some stood on the sidewalk and learned what it felt like to be seen without a chart explaining them.
Maren stayed beside Aster.
“What happens now?” she asked.
“You decide,” Aster said.
“I do not know how.”
“Neither did I.”
Claire watched the hospital entrance. Everett's model had vanished from the screens, but his voice remained in the intercom.
“Room Thirteen is not open,” it said. “You cannot continue.”
Mara looked toward the sky.
“Room Thirteen is not an archive room.”
“What is it?” Claire asked.
“A trial.”
Daniel came to stand beside them. “For whom?”
Mara answered, “For the person who believes visibility is enough.”
The hospital screens went black.
On the largest screen, a courtroom appeared.
Claire sat alone at the witness table.
Across from her sat every person whose records had been opened.
The judge's chair was empty.
The room asked one question.
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE TRUTH NOW THAT IT CAN HURT PEOPLE?
Claire looked at the patients, the families, and Aster.
She did not answer.
The courtroom door opened.
Room Thirteen began.