Andrew's Condition¶
Andrew's Condition is the set of physical changes in Andrew Howard after the Utah disaster: bullet resistance, a craving first for rare steak and then for human blood, and a healing power that fails at a crucial moment, none of which his doctors and church officials seem able to explain.
| Type | Lore |
| Aliases | bullet resistance; iron deficiency; blood craving; blood hunger; special horse |
| Affects | Andrew Howard |
| First appearance | Roulet Estate 01 |
Overview¶
By Christmas Eve 1992, Andre tells Rita, Andrew still has to eat normally but has "an additional requirement": Rita describes it as iron deficiency, and Andre adds an intense craving for very rare steak. Andrew was shot about five times in the torso in Utah and, in Andre's words, "just kind of walked it off". He is doing religious soul-searching ("Have I been chosen?"), and Huell is not in the loop about any of it (Roulet Estate 01).
Bullet resistance¶
Rita explains that Andrew negates 2 harm normally, and 3 with his pendant; she calls him "just a beefy boy". He gets +1 when pursuing, but -1 to Act Under Pressure (Roulet Estate 01).
At the Roulet House, the Roulet Intruder shoots him in the face with a VSS. Andrew negates the harm, and the shooter's body language reads as shock. When Kurt asks about the "bullet splash" on his collar, Andrew rubs his face and says he ran through something (Roulet Estate 01).
Speed¶
By Roulet Estate 02 Andrew's normal walking speed has risen to seven or eight miles an hour, which annoys the rest of the party as he opens doors for them from 45 feet ahead (Roulet Estate 02).
Blood craving¶
During the pharmacy siege in Roulet Estate 03, the sight of the Biz's blood and a gut-shot hostage's pool of blood triggers a craving. Rita rolls Act Under Pressure (8, at -1) and takes -2 to the rest of the fight rather than give in. After the gunman is subdued, Andrew tries to use his space-healing power on the Biz, and nothing happens. He applies a tourniquet instead and licks the blood from his fingers afterward, looking very upset that the power failed. Rita says Andrew is not in control of the behavior (Roulet Estate 03).
Doctors and church¶
In the months after the case, Andrew takes a week at home to talk to his doctor and church officials, who tell him his powers can be unpredictable, especially in moments of personal crisis, and promise tests. For the first time in his life he gets the impression that they do not know what they are talking about, "more like they were sort of shushing a panicking horse". Rita asks whether he feels like one of many beloved horses or a special one; Andre rules "for sure a special horse", and Andrew begins to realize he is the test case. They X-ray him but never show him the results or give him paperwork. At his request, his doctor starts mailing him human blood weekly, disguised as frozen orange juice packed in dry ice. Andrew does not ask where it comes from (Roulet Estate 03).
Shirtless in his New York hotel room, scratching the scar on his chest while the blood thaws in a Brita pitcher, Andrew wonders whether he died, whether he is an alien hybrid, and whether his weird dreams are actually his father. He is working a desk job analyzing the World Trade Center bombing, which Rita says he is fine with because of "the whole 'I can get shot now and not die' mystery" (Roulet Estate 03).
What remains unknown¶
The cause is never settled. Andrew's own guesses are that he died and came back, that he is an alien hybrid, or that his dreams come from his father. When Dante calls him a vampire during the siege, Rita answers, "I'm not a vampire. This is Vietnam." The episodes do not say what his doctor and church officials really know (Roulet Estate 03).