Restoration

by Daniel C McWhorter

  Lily stared at the briefcase and thought about it for several seconds before finally allowing him in. They walked the short distance to the kitchen, and Lily offered Bruce a seat at the table. He removed an iScroll and a folder from his briefcase.

  “As you are aware,” Bruce said, “your father owned fifty-one percent of Telogene Life Sciences and, as the sole surviving heir, that ownership now passes to you. In addition, your father has asked the board to promote you to CEO. Bill Frederickson will stay on as President for the time being.”

  Bruce opened his iScroll while he talked and slid it in front of Lily.

  “I need you to key in your access code and give me your palm print here to acknowledge these changes. There is more signing to do but this will let us get started.”

  Lily stared blankly at the iScroll display. “So, let me get this straight. My father is dead and you come here at three in the morning to get me to sign some bullshit corporate documents? Are you kidding me? Get out!”

  Lily got up from the table and started to leave the kitchen but stopped at the doorway.

  “Wait, before you get out you promised to take me to my father. Where is he?” she asked.

  Bruce shifted in his chair but didn't stand. “Lily, I asked you for fifteen minutes and it's been two. Will you please sit down and let me finish? I promise you, everything will make sense if you will give me a few more minutes.”

  Lily glared at him as she walked back to the table.

  “Alright, Mr. Wagner. You've got ten minutes, and you better not be wasting my time...especially if I am the CEO, that means you work for me now.”

  He smiled. “Not really. As I said before, I am Evan's personal attorney. I will be handing this off to the company lawyers later today. If you think you might have need of my services at some point, then I may consider it—but only if you are nice and can muster up a little more patience.”

  Bruce repositioned the iScroll in front of Lily. “Now if you please.”

  Lily scrolled through the document on the display. It was twenty-two pages long and overflowing with legalese.

  “What does it say?” she asked.

  “It’s a power of attorney that gives the company the ability to act on your behalf during the transfer of ownership. It is also a non-disclosure agreement that says you will discuss nothing you learn in your new capacity as interim CEO until you have received final approval from the board.”

  Lily signed the documents by keying in her access code and placing her palm on the display.

  “What's next?” she asked.

  Bruce examined the signed documents and tapped several times on the display.

  “I will let your father take it from here,” he said, sliding the iScroll in front of Lily. “I am going to step out while you watch this. Push play when you are ready and call me back in when you're finished.”

  Dylan stood and walked to the kitchen door. “This way, you can use my office.”

  “Thanks.” Bruce picked up his briefcase and followed Dylan to the study.

  Dylan returned and sat next to Lily she he could see the display. Evan was sitting on his office desk with his hands crossed loosely in front of him.

  Lily started the video.

  “Hi, sweetheart. I wish I was there with you and I am sorry I can't be with you to help you through what comes next.”

  Evan stood up and walked toward the camera. “But you are strong and I am confident that you will see things through.”

  He paced back and forth in front of his desk. “I'm ashamed to admit it but I've been keeping a secret from you. I didn't have a choice. You should have known, but I was afraid of what you'd say…of how you might feel.”

  Evan stared at the camera. “Your mother wasn't cremated…her body is in cryogenic suspension and, since you are watching this, so am I.”

  After dropping that bombshell, Evan went on to explain that there was a secret division of Telogene that reported to him with little, if any, board oversight. He called it "Project Second Chance" and its purpose was to identify and develop mechanisms to preserve human DNA indefinitely. Over the last three years, the team had significantly improved Telogene’s cryogenic suspension technology—and it was now possible to freeze human tissue without deterioration or damage.

  Evan briefly reviewed the backgrounds of the key personnel before sharing details on the various locations involved. The main research lab was in Hong Kong but a network of limestone caves near Kansas City served as the primary cold-storage site. There was an air of pride in his voice as he described the storage facility's geothermal power source, which he expected would generate power for hundreds—if not thousands—of years.

  He concluded with an explanation of his goal for Project Second Chance.

  “By now you will have figured out that preserving DNA is only the beginning. That technology has important ramifications for medical science and I envision a day not too far off when we will take a sample of every person's DNA at birth, preserve it and use it to sequence genetically targeted cures for all kinds of diseases. Heck, we can use it to clone whole new body parts if we need to.”

  He resumed pacing.

  “And if we can create parts, then there is no reason we can't create entire bodies. Of course, cloning a body is just creating another person. They may have the same genes but they would have their own brains and would develop as unique individuals as they matured—like identical twins.”

  Evan stopped mid-stride and leaned against his desk.

  “Ethical issues aside, what I am really interested in is extending human life and perhaps even...”

  Lily paused the video.

  She knew where her dad was going and she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it. Dylan, to his credit, didn't say a word. He took her hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze.

  Lily tapped Resume.

  “...the complete elimination of death. That wasn't my main goal five years ago when I started this project but it became my goal when your mother died. She left us too soon, and she had so much more to offer the world.”

  He walked around his desk and sat in an oversized brown leather chair; taking a deep breath before he continued.

  “We are also working on preserving the brain. Not only the tissues but the knowledge and memories locked inside them. If we can make it work, we will give new lives to the hundreds of thousands of people who live with perfectly healthy brains trapped inside diseased or broken bodies. Or who are being slowly killed by their own bodies—like I am.”

  Evan clasped his hands together as if in prayer. “I want you to promise me you will continue this work. I believe you have what it takes and I am confident that the team will make the breakthroughs needed to make this technology viable under your leadership.”

  Her father stood up from his chair and walked around his desk toward the camera. “Lily, I want you to promise me you will bring us back. Give your mother and me a chance to see our grandchildren grow-up. We both worked too hard for too long and we deserve to see what comes from our life's work. This is a big ask and you will probably need time to think about it—I understand. Just know I love you and I believe in you. Bruce is a good friend and trusted confidant. He will help you if you let him. Goodbye, Lilypad, I miss you already.”

  Lily took her hand from Dylan's, wiped her eyes and stood. She walked over to the kitchen door, took a deep breath and called down the hallway.

  “We're ready for you Mr. Wagner.”

  Bruce returned to the kitchen and took his seat at the table.

  “So, what do you think?” he asked.

  Lily's face turned red as her anger overwhelmed her.

  “I don't think much of it all, Mr. Wagner,” she answered. “In the last twenty minutes, I've learned that my dad died, that he's a liar and that my mom's remains are in some freezer a hundred feet underground. Oh and let’s not forget that my dad thinks he is God and can bring people back from the dead. Even worse, he wants me to promise to carry out this
mad scheme of his...which I guess means he thinks I am God too! Honestly, I am tempted to resign right now.”

  Bruce responded in his usual calm demeanor. “I understand that this is quite a shock, Lily. Why don't you get some sleep? I can come back in a few hours to help with the funeral arrangements.”

  Lily couldn't believe what she had heard. “Funeral arrangements? What funeral? Isn't he being put in the icebox next to Mom?”

  “Lily, your father is the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company. There are lots of people that expect a funeral and it would not be prudent to disappoint them.”

  Bruce put his elbows on his knees and leaned toward Lily.

  “Look, I know this is hard and I get that you would have preferred to learn of this in a very different way but it's what your father wanted and I am doing my best to carry out his last wishes.”

  He leaned back and picked up his iScroll.

  “Let's do this, you take a few hours to calm down and think about it. You can call me whenever you are ready.”

  Bruce tapped his iScroll several times.

  “I just sent you my contact info. Call me any time, twenty-four hours a day.”

  Bruce put his iScroll in his briefcase and reached for the folder he had left on the table.

  “Oh yeah, one more thing,” he added. “This folder contains your new access card and a flash drive. The drive has the video you just watched and copies of your father's private files. They're encrypted but you can access them from any device with a palm reader.”

  Lily stood up and extended her hand to Wagner. “Thank you, Mr. Wagner. You've been very helpful and you will hear from me soon. Please show him out Dylan?”

  “Good night, Lily,” Bruce said. “Please remember the non-disclosure agreement and don’t hesitate to call if there is anything I can do for you…anything at all.”

  “Of course,” she replied. “I just need time to think.”

  Dylan showed Bruce to the door and thanked him for his help. He came back to find Lily pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor—a habit she had obviously inherited from her father.

  “What are you going to do?” he asked.

  “I don't know, I really don't know.” She continued pacing. “On one hand, I am intrigued by this whole idea but on the other, it doesn't seem right. Does anyone have a right to live forever?”

  “Well, it's not forever, Lil...”

  “Of course it is!” She stopped pacing.

  “Don't you see?” She continued. “If you can clone someone’s body and then transplant their brain once, who says you can't do it two or three or a hundred times? What would this world be like in a decade at current birth rates if the death rate dropped to zero? What about a hundred years from now?”

  She resumed pacing.

  “We are already approaching nine billion people Dylan. Do you think this planet can sustain ten or twelve or twenty billion? I don't, and I don't want to be a part of creating the nightmare this world will become if people stop dying.”

  “Yeah, I see what you mean,” Dylan acknowledged. “But what if it was just two people...or ten, or maybe a hundred? Would that seriously unbalance the world? I doubt it. I understand that there are ethical considerations and it won't be easy to keep this technology from falling into the wrong hands but that's why your father chose you.”

  She stopped pacing again.

  “Don't you see?” he continued. “Evan wants you in charge of this project because he knew you'd have ethical concerns and that you would do everything in your power to make sure it’s not abused. Your father chose you because, as he said himself, he knows you will do the right thing. He believes in you, Lily and so do I.”

  Dylan took her hands in his. “I know that I am just a has-been game developer.”

  He was being modest. He created his first blockbuster video game when he was twenty, sold his company for three hundred million dollars when he was twenty-nine and retired at thirty-seven when Aubrey was born so he could be a stay at home dad.

  “But Evan gave you an amazing gift, and I'd hate to see you throw it away.”

  “What gift?” she asked skeptically.

  “The gift of life, the power to decide how long it lasts and when it’s over. This isn't just about bringing your parents back. It's about the power to decide when your own life ends...or mine, or Aubrey's for that matter. Just imagine if, heaven forbid, someday Aubrey gets sick and this technology could save her. Would you do it then?”

  “That's not fair.”

  “Of course it's not,” Dylan agreed, “and that's precisely why your father kept this from you. It's not fair and no amount of rationalizing will ever make it fair. Dying isn't fair. Getting sick or being born with a genetic defect isn't fair. Life isn't fair!”

  “You're right,” she said, “I’m exhausted and not thinking clearly. Thank you for being there for me.”

  She threw her arms around his neck. “Please be patient with me. I love you and I promise we will get through this.”

  Dylan leaned in and softly touched his lips to hers. “I love you too. Hang in there and give yourself time to think it through. You will make the right decision.”

  He held her close and kissed her again. “Do you want to try to get a few hours of sleep?”

  “Yeah, that's a good idea,” she said. “We both should try to sleep.”

  The couple walked hand-in-hand up the stairs to their bedroom. Lily climbed into bed first and Dylan snuggled up behind her with his arm drawn tight across her chest. Lily closed her eyes and tried to sleep but her brain would not quiet.

  Too much had happened too fast. She couldn’t help but replay every moment of the past several days over and over in her head. When she finally succumbed to the dark embrace of sleep, her memories gave way to nightmares.

  Lily moaned and whimpered as her brain conjured images of a planet ruled by a small group of wealthy elites. She imagined them as brutal people who lacked empathy and who used their vast wealth and unnaturally long lives to gain an unfair advantage over the less fortunate.

  She cried as she imagined herself being the person responsible for unleashing the curse of eternal life on humanity. She dreamt of a stinking, decaying, over-populated Earth, with its billions of people all clamoring to live forever—and she screamed.

  CHAPTER 3

  APRIL 3, 2075 10:00 AM Global Standard Time

  Telogene World Headquarters

  Lead, South Dakota

  “Doctor Harris?”

  An attractive woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties entered through the door to the private office.

  An equally attractive woman who looked only slightly older looked up from her desk.

  “Yes?”

  “Doctor Hao says he is ready for you now.”

  A smile crept across Doctor Harris's face. “Okay, please tell him I will be down momentarily.”

  “Is there anything I should know?” The other woman asked.

  “No, I’m sure it’s just another one of Chen’s experiments. Will you please clear my schedule for the rest of the day?”

  “Of course,” the woman replied as she closed the door behind her.

  Doctor Harris waved her hand to dismiss the holographic display projecting above her desk. She had been reviewing a new genetic enhancement protocol that would increase human lung capacity by several hundred percent. If alveoli count and tidal volume were increased sufficiently, then a gene-modified human should be able to achieve the respiratory efficiency of a bottlenose dolphin—a substantial increase. This would be a huge boon to space and undersea colonists and, more importantly, it is exactly the kind of innovation the company needed to stay ahead of its competitors.

  She would have to come back to that later. The doctor stood up and walked across the room to her private elevator. The elevator was an executive perk that allowed her to access any floor in the complex without having to enter public areas. Not only was it incredibly convenient but it enabled her to get fr
om point A to point B without having to stop and chat, or have people wonder where she was going and why she was going there.

  She placed her hand on the scanner inside the elevator and stated her destination.

  “Cryonics Lab.”

  The scanner flashed green.

  “Thank you, Doctor Harris,” a pleasant female voice replied.

  The elevator began its rapid descent to the Cryonics Lab on sub-level 46, which was 54 floors and 500 meters below her 8th-floor office.

  That’s much better, she thought. She hadn't been a fan of the previous voice and had it reprogrammed to be sound more confident and professional and less sexy.

  It took thirty seconds to descend to the Cryonics Lab. Even though the lab was deep underground, the lowest level of the facility was still another 1000 meters below her. Telogene's Advanced Research and Storage facility was built around an old gold mine that once served as a government-funded research facility.

  The government scientists had used the deepest parts of the mine to hunt for dark matter and perform other esoteric physics experiments that required isolation from solar radiation and cosmic rays. That funding dried up during the global financial crisis of 2025 and lab was abandoned until Telogene bought it in 2037 for its new world headquarters. Within a decade it had become Telogene's premier research facility in the United States.

  Most of the country had suffered from global warming but South Dakota and the other Great Plains states benefited from warmer weather and significantly increased rainfall. The warm, wet climate was perfect for growing crops nine months of the year and the abundance of water had attracted millions of people from the less fortunate states.

  Telogene was forced to relocate its headquarters from Kansas City after a successive string of devastating tornadoes and earthquakes. The last quake registered 8.4 on the Richter Scale and it caused significant damage throughout the Midwest. Damage to Telogene's underground facilities in Kansas City was extensive, and the company decided that the cost of rebuilding was too high. The move to Lead, South Dakota occurred the following year.