He set down the empty glass, looked around him, tried to think. Then made his way to the Infirmary.
*
The new doctor examined him thoroughly, including a scope of his intestines that the first had considered unnecessary. He sighed to himself as he studied the computer screen.
"What is it?" asked Brunner impatiently.
"You no doubt had an intestinal virus, but that only exacerbated the more serious problem."
"Which is?"
… "Crohn's disease."
"What? What is that?"
"An inflammation of the intestines: similar to arthritis, and that the body incorrectly identifies a part of itself as an alien invader, and sends out anti-bodies to attack it.
Brunner felt the breath catch at his throat. "Am I going to die?"