Chapter 32 The Crumbling Lock

• The triumph of the petri dish was a distant, cold star, its light unable to reach the medical emergency unfolding in the isolation tent. On the monitor, Alexander Sterling’s vitals were a frantic, chaotic dance toward flatline. The neurostorm wasn't just a seizure; it was a systemic riot, his body's final, desperate rebellion against the invisible enemy consuming it.
• "We're losing him!" Thorne shouted, his hands flying over the crash cart. "The stress of the prion neutralization itself might be triggering an catastrophic inflammatory response! His body can't take the fight!"
• The key was in our hand, but the door was splintering apart. We could not simply flood his system with the neutralizing plasma. His cardiovascular system, already weakened, would never withstand the influx. It was a cruel paradox: the cure could kill him as surely as the disease.