Schiller froze. He couldn't help confirming it again, but Oakes said with absolute certainty, "There were no windows opposite the photovoltaic integration unit."
That was actually impossible. The photovoltaic integration unit was an energy device mounted on the station's outer hull. It was huge, so it couldn't possibly have been above a station corridor. It had to be above the overall section, with the Energy Hub directly below it.
In this room's layout, aside from the side with the entrance corridor, the other three sides were all windows.
In other words, no matter which side Oakes had climbed over to, he should have found windows.
"Are you sure you looked down?" Schiller asked, trying to rule out the possibility that Oakes had reached the corridor side.
"Yes, I looked down. It was sealed off below. There was nothing under me," Oakes said.
His tone was so certain that Schiller almost began doubting himself. After confirming it again with Gray Mist, Schiller established that the structure containing the photovoltaic integration unit had windows on three sides.
That meant Oakes had hallucinated at the time. That wasn't a typical symptom of Bipolar Disorder. Had Schiller misjudged the situation?
"What did you do next?" Schiller asked.
"I... I wanted someone to come save me. I wanted to wait..."
"Wait for what?"
"The maintenance crew." Oakes took great effort to force out the word. "They make several rounds around the station. They'd be able to see me..."
Schiller was surprised again. So Oakes had also thought of waiting for a spacecraft to pass by and spot him. Then why hadn't he done it?
"There were monsters," Oakes said. "I saw the sun's flames slowly closing in on me. Monsters with tentacles were born from something black, and they kept attacking me. I flailed on