A rain that came without warning left just as quickly.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, making the surface of the puddles shimmer.
Rrakavasha closed the oil-paper umbrella, gently shaking off water droplets before removing his mud-stained shoes and changing into clean sandals.
"Go dry your clothes quickly."
"Mm."
Having experienced bringing her mother for treatment on rainy days before, Clarice changed her shoes and navigated the familiar path into the bamboo house, activating the special 'dryer' placed in its designated area.
Supposedly, something Mr. Rrakavasha had tinkered with during his free time. Too lazy to give it a proper name, he simply called it a dryer.
Warm air slipped into her dress, circulating along her skin and carrying away the dampness the rain had left on both skin and fabric, forming a faint mist barely visible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, Rrakavasha returned to his room and casually changed clothes, habitually throwing on his white coat before entering the treatment room.
The session was nearing its end.
The young woman's lively figure stopped beside Rrakavasha. Gazing at her relative in the treatment pod, her fingers unconsciously interlaced in a prayerful gesture.
"Don't worry. Everything's normal."
When the treatment countdown reached zero, the medical pod door automatically opened, and Mrs. Durand slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing both familiar and unfamiliar faces, the confusion in her eyes diminished slightly.
"...Clarice... and this gentleman..."
"Mother!"
Clarice carefully helped Mrs. Durand up, excitedly embracing her mother, but quickly regained her composure, her delicate face filled with astonishment.
"Mother, you... don't remember Mr. Rrakavasha?"
"Mr. Rrakavasha, Mr. Rrakavasha..." Mrs. Durand searched her memory carefully, asking uncertainly, "...Is he the doctor treating my illness?"
Seeing this, Rrakavasha's eyes grew heavy.
Meeting the young woman's somewhat panicked gaze, he gave her a subtle look.
"Mrs. Durand, please allow me to examine your current brain condition."
"Alright."
Attaching the relevant electrode instruments to Mrs. Durand's head, Rrakavasha initiated the examination program.
Countless pieces of information that Clarice couldn't comprehend appeared on the display screen. Rrakavasha didn't miss even a single detail, taking it all in.
Several minutes later, he shut down the instruments and removed the numerous electrodes.
"Mrs. Durand's current condition has a small complication, but it's still within controllable parameters. Please rest assured, in two months, your amnesia will be completely cured."
"Oh, good. Thank you for your trouble."
Though Mrs. Durand couldn't remember Rrakavasha, she could sense the goodwill he projected.
"You may return home. Please come back for follow-up treatment in approximately twenty-four days."
The number twenty-four didn't elicit any particular reaction from Mrs. Durand.
But Clarice was different. Seeing her mother's response, worry flashed across her face.
This was the first time Mother had forgotten the interval between treatments after a session.
And the time needed until the next treatment had shortened by several more days...
Eventually, there would come a day when even daily treatments would prove futile.
By then, even she might be forgotten by Mother.
When a person completely loses their memory, even if they're still alive, there's no difference from being deceased.
[Life is a winding labyrinth, with memories our sole companions.]
Recalling words her mother had once told her, Clarice seemed to grasp the meaning of that phrase.
...
After the mother and daughter departed, Rrakavasha imported this session's data into the recording terminal and began further analysis.
Generally speaking, even in worlds where medical technology was relatively advanced, conditions related to memory remained persistent challenges.
Take the Xianzhou people, for instance.
The specific reason they became Mara-Struck had deep connections to memory.
Those who fell to Mara suffered complete sensory inversion and total loss of humanity.
Ruan Mei had once researched how to cure the Mara-Struck, but he didn't know whether that project had been successfully completed.
The Xianzhou native who'd volunteered as a research and experimental subject had been taken away by a starskiff one day.
Success or failure, alive or dead, Rrakavasha, only twenty-two at the time, had no idea.
However, after that, the coursework Ruan Mei assigned him included a research project related to memory.
Thanks to his long immersion in memory-related studies, he now possessed the capability to treat Mrs. Durand's amnesia.
Currently, all symptoms remain within expectations. Good.
Rrakavasha had confidence and would definitely fulfill the promise he'd given Clarice.
He didn't know when it started, but Rrakavasha had come to regard promises as extremely important.
Sometimes, even he couldn't understand why he invested so much effort into certain words he could easily identify as casually spoken.
Many years ago, Yu Qingtu had once told him;
'If you can make pastries that satisfy me, I'll unconditionally help you with one matter and solve a problem for your teacher.'
'But since I appreciate Aruan, even if you can't do it, I'll help her anyway.'
Naturally, Rrakavasha had solemnly made that promise, determined not to disappoint.
He remembered Yu Qingtu's expression that day, filled with profound astonishment.
The meaning was obvious: a distinguished genius had merely been joking, never expecting the little fellow before her to actually agree. Otherwise, she wouldn't have added that second sentence as an escape route.
After recovering, Yu Qingtu quirked her lips, a trace of interest and faint anticipation appearing in her eyes.
It took a full seven years before Rrakavasha successfully developed a miraculous flavoring agent.
Added to pastries, it would automatically adjust to the taster, becoming their most preferred flavor.
In a sense, it was somewhat of a cheat, but it still earned Yu Qingtu's approval.
From that point on, every time Yu Qingtu came to see Ruan Mei, Rrakavasha would make an extra portion of pastries.
Initially, he'd use that flavoring agent, but as time gradually stretched on, he stopped using it.
"Mrs. Durand's amnesia isn't caused by brain damage or any special disease..."
"It's not the same type as the long-conquered Alzheimer's... this can be confirmed with one hundred percent certainty."
"Therefore, stem cell transplantation methods cannot be used."
"Using CRISPR-dCas9 technology to remove DNA methylation markers, reactivate memory-related genes, supplemented by CCKBR receptor modulators..."
Rrakavasha opened the containment cabinet and removed a special medication from the cold-air-shrouded storage rack.
This was the CCKBR receptor modulator.
Strictly speaking, it had no effect on Mrs. Durand's amnesia. The reason it served as a supplementary treatment was preventative.
If the treatment process caused neurological damage to the patient's brain, the CCKBR receptor modulator could immediately take effect.
To cure Mrs. Durand's amnesia, the key still lay in the results of his years of research.
Memory Decoding and Restoration.
Using implantable devices to simulate hippocampal function and replicate memory-related neural signals.
Capturing and amplifying residual electrical signals from the hippocampus, then digitizing the patient's memories and transmitting them back via BCI.
"...Hah, if only we had a Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection, they might have simpler methods..."
Unfortunately, he hadn't walked the Path of Remembrance. He could only rely on himself.
Currently, this research has reached its final stages, with only the last step remaining: clinical trials.
Rrakavasha drank the receptor modulator, preparing to personally verify its efficacy.