A second unusual letter from his friend, Dr. Luis Merlo has piqued Sandy’s curiosity and he is uncertain whether the images being described truly exist, or whether his friend has lost his sanity. The drawings seem authentic but are disturbing … and Sandy wonders whether the upcoming release of The Anatomical Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors might unhinge its readers.
“Dear Sandy,
I am pleased to know that you found and rescued the manuscript, and I trust you will do the right thing in publishing it. I must apologize for taking so long to write since my last letter, but I have been taking care of some business here, both regarding my own health and my study.
While the depersonalization symptoms remain, I am glad to share that I haven’t experienced any new seizures. My physical strength also seems to be coming back despite the slight fever, and yesterday I was able to eat a normal diet without further problems. Sadly, my memory and sleep have not recovered so well, and are impairing my attempts to retake my work as quickly as I’d like to. I must say that while I believed my sleeping problems were due to stress, I now fear that my deep sleep cycle has been disturbed by automatisms and somnambulism. Sadly, I cannot risk exposure to any form of ionizing radiation or electromagnetic fields to help with diagnosis, so I’ll have to stick with clinical observation.
Regarding my study, there’s good and bad news. Sadly, a proper visit will have to be postponed indefinitely since I cannot ensure the safety of the laboratory at the moment.
As you witnessed yourself, most of my previous residence and dissection lab are gone. While I was successful in recovering a few tissue samples, most of the bodies have disappeared. A quick survey of the fissures inside the lab demonstrated large geologic formations of some kind well beyond the limits of my estate. Because of this, I decided to seal the lab until I can confirm its structural integrity and close the chamber. You’ll be glad to know that most of my book collection is intact, with only superficial damage to some pages and a couple of missing texts.
I cannot say for how long most of my book collection was destroyed. Some were recovered, but most were corrupted with the corpses of the vertebrates. You will see them when you come here next week, as agreed. The material was stored behind the junction but carbon texts have to be consolidated and the images. Despite this, I believe I will be able to retake it soon. I hope some of the material I have gathered will help me clear out some theories about their ecology, at least until I can travel again.
I am optimistic regarding the future, even if writing is not as easy as before. I trust I will recover soon and continue where I left.
Regards,
LM