Please just get therapy. Christ.

Probably not pure mercury but one of the extremely nasty mercury compounds that is easily absorbed through the skin. The victim was very sick.

There are some big veins and arteries running through there not too far from the surface. If your assailant gets one you are on a pretty quick trip to the morgue. As others have mentioned, sepsis is a real problem—if your intestines take a hit, the normally helpful bacteria in there can go straight into your bloodstream. That is a painful, nasty, and prolonged death.

Constantly. However I have mapped my left control key so that if I tap it, it sends Escape.

According to the article search and rescue was “unsuccessful” so we may assume all hands were lost. However bad, it was their last. I know these aren’t necessarily very fine people or anything, but I mourn what might have been if they didn’t go to the service of a futile and costly invasion.