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historical-wound
The presence of a minie ball bullet from the Civil War era introduces a connection between past trauma and present mystery.
1 chapter across 1 book
The Long Twilight (1969)Keith Laumer
Chapter 7
In this chapter, a heavily scarred man visits Smitty's Conditioning Parlor seeking intense heat treatments to combat the effects of alcohol poisoning. During his massage, an old bullet wound becomes infected and bursts, revealing a Civil War-era minie ball, and simultaneously, the man's extensive scars mysteriously begin to fade and disappear, baffling the attending doctor and masseur. Despite the doctor's insistence on further medical examination, the man refuses and leaves, leaving his miraculous healing unexplained.