Kertelen’s Second Childhood

This flow traces Kertelen’s passage from competent explorer to a person forced to relearn consciousness from the beginning.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Cave Discovery

The Cave Discovery Ancient Machine Kertelen discovers the remains of an ancient automaton in a water-carved cave. The find seems to promise a direct link between the ruins and the planet’s mechanical past. Sudden Exposure He emerges from the ravine unable to recognize his companions or speak. His physical body returns, but his personality does not. The discovery becomes inseparable from the cost of curiosity.

Infant Mind

Infant Mind Complete Erasure Sax identifies the condition as more than ordinary amnesia. Kertelen loses identity, language, reading, writing, and the ability to distinguish people from objects. Residual Functions His reflexes remain intact, and he can walk and eat when guided. The body continues as a functioning organism after memory has been removed. The case gives the crew a living image of what the Condor survivor may have endured.

Learning Again

Learning Again Recognition Returns Kertelen begins to recognize his physicians and produces early syllables. His recovery resembles childhood development, but it cannot restore the erased expeditionary experience. Permanent Loss The doctors conclude that he will never explain what happened in the ravine. His improvement therefore offers limited consolation. Kertelen survives as a person whose future exists, while his past has become inaccessible.

after the first western expeditions

within the week after Kertelen’s attack

the second week of the stay