PSU | Pacific
Southwestern University
Hank Millard PhD
Dept. Chair of Life
Sciences; Pathology
Dear Cynthia Drier
There are a
number of very interesting points you have likely noticed, but I would like to
bring attention to on the off chance that they were missed. First of all,
Algoma does not believe her brother will see the letters. While not important
for us as historians, it does shed a small amount of light on Algoma’s
character. It’s also clear that Algoma is exhibiting some symptoms, as of this
third letter: fatigue, vomiting (possibly projectile), and red spots. While the
spots are attributed to bug bites, a better match for their descriptions and
nature would be petechial. She also notes a lingering exhaustion which while
understandable, seems asymptomatic of travel because of its presence in the
morning. At this point I find it hard to believe that Algoma’s ailment is
related to that of her captor’s village. Her descriptions of their corpses everywhere
suggest that the death rate was higher than any cleanup efforts were able to
handle. The attribution of this disease to the gods also compounds upon the
general idea that this disease was incredibly dangerous. People living in these
times, especially in the deep jungle were quite accustomed to rampaging
sickness, they do not claim diving intervention lightly.
-
H. Millard
