Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars

by Matthew Opdyke

  Within each tech city, every domicile was set up in much the same way. Eliza had also established a system of governance in these tech cities based on common sense, well-being, Universal Ethics, and thus everything her company was doing, was within ethical standards of guidance according to the laws and bylaws that put first the well-being of the people over money or power games. The total population had grown to more than 20 million people in these cities by the end of 2008, and as such, they had requested and conducted an election, voting Eliza in for the first 100-year term as the President of Pathway’s twenty-thousand tech cities.

  With options of the biopod available, there was always the chance that the family would not feel comfortable with physiological and neurological optimization. Thus, Amber Blythe was prepared for long-term, FDA-approved, public treatments as well. These involved staying in the world-renown and public Pathway LLC, Melrose Campus.

  Every family was given the choice. They could become fully read-in citizens of Pathway with the transparency of the service they would be receiving afforded them, as due, before any procedure. Or, they could opt to turn down the use of a biopod, their comments on treatments could go public, but there was a confidentiality agreement that stated that they would not under any circumstances discuss identified proprietary information with the general public, news agencies, etc. If any questions were had, they could contact their delegate, which in the case of the Carter family, their delegate was Amber Blythe. She would coach them prior to any public interviews.

  Doing things in public involved cross-queuing with scientists all over the world using jargon and technologies accepted in the real and legal worlds via science journals and working in real-world laboratories with archaic equipment (which were ironically considered costly in both time and money, and required a lot of investment in physical input, even by the standards of Pathway LLC and in the real world). Going public, they would need to deal with the many tedious aspects which would include the red-tape existent in liabilities, legalities, approvals, lawyers, attorneys, government approvals, and of course, this would consume a lot more time than was necessary, while failing to actually address the issues present with a particular patient. All of this bureaucratic confusion had increased so much so, that it lent to unnecessary suffering, misery, and the terminal nature existent in so many victims of toxicity in one form or another.

  Luckily, aside from Amber’s intellect, genius, drive, and personal investment, in this case, where-in Erin reminded her of her sister, during the last two months three new recent recruits to Pathway LLC had come on board and were fully read-in. They worked with her well-taking care of all of the public aspects within just a couple of months. The public treatments were ready; as far as healing was concerned, the biopod was instantaneous in every way that mattered.

  The first recruit Amber worked with was Dr. Yon Forall, who had been conducting extensive research on progeria for a book about telomerase therapy and telomeres. He had also been conducting extensive research on Progeria Therapies for more than twenty years.

  Dr. Leticia Perrier, Ph.D., Founder, and President of Earth Lives Biotechnology had been the second recruit Amber began working with, not more than a day later, and she had been working on several therapies. She was well-versed on telomerase therapy, farnesyltransferase inhibitors, myostatin inhibitors, and other aspects that related to controlling progerin, or the silent point mutation in the lamin A gene, and its tendency to damage good cells within the human body.

  Finally, Dr. Leah B. Gardenia, Ph.D., MD, and Progeria Study Foundation joined the team about three days later. Leah had worked with more than ninety-six Progeria patients during their various stages of life while conducting research on what caused damage to the body’s cells affecting them in such a way. Through her experiences and studies, she more fully understood what would cause cells to become prematurely senescent and had brilliant ideas on what could be used to stop the damage and perhaps even reverse it.

  Even though the new recruits were each in their fifties, they looked like they were only twenty-two. They had the mental aptitude of geniuses, due to their personal dedication, their studies, and now optimized capabilities which augmented their clarity of each of the associated and integrated sciences. Everyone on Amber’s team was an excellent team worker, and thus, very capable socially. Since they too had become fully read-in, they were assigned to work with Amber on physiological and neurological health-related scientific missions en-tangent with Erin’s and had spent a lot of time together in the Virtual Universe labs linked to their labs in the real world. These labs had resources and capabilities that stemmed from Earth and tech city technologies.

  Along with their many missions, they wrote books, led science teams, and nurtured the public into the future of longevity, health, strength, and clarity of mind. They also conducted advanced proprietary and public research. Any books they wrote were vetted by Pathway citizens, so they could be sold worldwide, just like “Pathway to the Stars” had been. They would show promise using established scientific standards for biotechnology, neurotechnology, and advanced medical sciences, with subtle bumps in solution-based theories to speed things up.

  Needless to say, terrestrial modern medicine had a long way to go in order to bridge the gap between its own and Pathway’s capabilities. Adjustment of social norms, the argumentative tone of many non-read-in scientists, and Pathway’s biopods were small pieces in a large puzzle of the stark contrast between well-being and what was accepted in public. Fortunately, Amber had studied with Doctors Yon Forall, Leticia Perrier, and Leah Gardenia for many centuries worth of time within the Virtual Universe, a couple of months in the real world, and together they came up with viable real-world solutions to curing Progeria. Based on the current pace of science, most Pathway scientists wouldn’t be able to release their books until 2014 or 2018 or later.

  Working with Yon, Leticia, and Leah on the development of her own multi-layered knowledge, the completion of her own thesis and with Thanksgiving around the corner, Amber was finally prepared and, in a position, to be able to contact, coordinate with, and visit the Carters.

  For her trip to Nebraska, Amber had been briefed previously on public Pathway traveling norms. So, although she didn’t need to pack a suitcase, she packed one anyway to elude any suspicions. Even though the brushing of her teeth, showering up, using of the restroom facilities, or the changing of her clothes could take place on a nano-level with a snap of a finger, or adjust according to the fashion macro in her mind, she packed the typical items so those who provided hospice wouldn’t be overwhelmed by her abilities, all typically followed by a brilliant glow.

  While Amber no longer needed luggage to spend the night, due to her optimizations and her smart-suit, which was standard issue and tailored to fit for all who were read-in, she had to consider public perception. Snapping her finger and not toting around bags would most likely raise suspicions and would traditionally work out alright if she were living out of a hotel room that wasn’t closely monitored. Pathway delegates typically stayed at a cheap motel because they had separate door entrances available for each temporary domicile, which worked for Pathway delegates without any cause for concern. While staying at more humble locations when traveling was the typical method of temporary domicile for any of Eliza’s delegates and representatives, when going to a family home or a large metropolitan environment, it was always recommended to bring the necessary bags. Fortunately, an optimized body augmented strength and agility, so toting bags was easy.

  As Amber thought about what she wanted to do in Kearney, she was thrilled by the possibilities of a tour around Erin’s town to check out the schools, the art centers, the farmlands, and the archway museum above Interstate 80. Maybe she could head there for a morning jog and eat at Carter’s favorite restaurant. The possibilities seemed endless. Everything she thought of from jogging through the fields to swimming with the water snakes without fear would be wonderful things to do once she met the Carters, and
if she stayed the night. In all seriousness, no matter where she planned on going, she knew it would be important to get the feel of this location and understand and analyze the surrounding environment for proper and objective environmental diagnostics. She appreciated the rolling possibilities for doing so.

  Even though her physiology and neurology were optimized and received constant updates and she had learned how to control the glow, Amber was enthusiastic about this visit. So much so, that she could feel the glimmer of her nanos raging through her physiological system. She felt her left side body art swimming around with its ever-pulsating kaleidoscope of artistry, her hairstyles and highlights changing every few seconds, her make-up was flailing about and out of control, and her smart-clothing fashions and styles were all changing between the many full-on wardrobes she had set aside for every and any possible occasion, as she drove down the road. She was glad no one else seemed to be on the road, since she kind of felt like a clown, especially as she struggled to gather her senses, activate her stationary look, seal it in place, and calm down.

  At one point on her drive from the local airfield to Carter’s home, she found herself wearing a bikini, and at another point she was almost embarrassingly wearing only a bathrobe, at another point she was wearing a super hero’s costume, but within a few moments she was able to conduct what she called a “thought change,” and she was back in her normal attire, and put it into stasis. “I have that issue handled. Check!”

  Looking back, it had taken almost two months before Amber could put her public image and a variety of occasion-applicable assortments of a wardrobe into stasis or in a compartmented area within her mind for use as needed to apply to her smart suit digital overlay. ‘Hopefully, the designer industry will be able to get involved in the neural wardrobe compartmentalization scene soon. Not all of us are that kind of creative,’ Amber thought and chuckled. Her public image had been as her basic self, which had always been a sort of professionalized look mixed with her modeling attire. Being optimized did not mean a person didn’t get a little nervous; however, Amber thought of all of this, and then she coached herself, “Nerves are gone. Check.”

  Although Amber didn’t need to go jogging, she was just like her new friends Yesha, Eliza, and James, and like them, she still enjoyed testing her limitations, her speed, and the Earthly sights and sounds as she breathed in the world around her. With an optimized body, she didn’t need to eat, but it was still energy. The energy was processed perfectly to enhance her hygiene and produced a pleasant scent of roses, lilacs, or any satisfying and physiologically healthy aroma, for that matter, that came to mind. Her nanos were always working. Therefore, while she could eat a rock or breathe in radiation for the same result, normalcy was just better.

  She wasn’t going to Kearney for the food. She knew that. She was going there to meet and help Erin, “But food can be a reward! Oh, the yummy bakery delights, the veggies, the fruits, oh! Omaha beef! I’ll have to bring some home, so I can use the cellular makeup of it to grow the best cuts without ever needing to kill another head of cattle, or cows, as they prefer to be called. We’re so sorry, cows; Nature made us omnivores, but we’re evolving! I suppose when I get back to the campuses, maybe I can use the steak, some hair follicles, break out the differences in genetics and root encodings, re-encode each cell, grow the meat in the labs, and enjoy the best steaks by simply brushing a cow’s hair, converting the cells, and growing the various cuts of steak in-vitro from then on out! It will be nice to have a premium sample to go off of, I suppose. Hopefully, Chloe won’t mind back at home! I’ll talk to her about this. Okay, back to my mission.”

  Amber had rehearsed everything extensively by the time she arrived at Carter’s home. At one point during her drive there, she’d lost track of time and while obeying the speed limit and traffic signs, she found she’d driven a few miles off. Finally, she stopped, parked, and only continued driving down the road after tapping into her neural link to the Internet to bring up a mental image of Google Maps so she could drive to the Carter family’s residence without causing any accidents. There was a time that she had appreciated her cell phone, but that was now old-hat. Plus, she saw the cell phone as a social deterrent and she considered herself an odd duck where that was concerned. Eliza and Yesha had seemed to love theirs, but they were also respectfully reticent of the people around first and foremost, and for them, it served as a sense of normalcy rather than a real-world social distraction. Amber, in contrast, was still learning to use her neurological-digital display. Pondering on her drive, she was grateful for her neural link and the three-dimensional holographic digital presentation before her telling her everything she needed to know, whenever she needed to know it, so long as she didn’t get lost in nervousness.

  The scene of portable tech had her awash in frustration over the typical social scene surrounding hand-held devices, nevertheless. “How many times do people walk into an office and say hi to those in the room these days? Hardly ever! They’re usually looking down at their cell phone and ignoring passers-by. With my new abilities, I can see people, bring up any public data and know instantly who I am talking to. No longer does technology need to be a hindrance to social integration, it can actually help. It’s great being optimized!” Amber coached herself often, as she did in this situation, to simply gather her senses and reduce her glow.

  The quaint nature of the town was quite appealing. She could actually see the skyline above the buildings and homes and as she drove by them she appreciated the simpler way of life and pressed on. After arriving, she got out of her rental vehicle, looked at the darling and charming home, smiled, and walked up the driveway and to the front door, and rang the doorbell.

  “Bzzzzz…”

  “Here we go,” she thought to herself.

  Within a few short moments, the door opened and a lady who looked like the pictures and videos she’d seen of Beverly Carter, or Erin’s mother, began the conversation. Amber recalled that she was as attractive as seen in the documentaries and talk shows. “Hello, is this Amber?”

  “Yes, this is. You must be Beverly Carter. How are you?” Amber did everything she could to control her nerves and her glow, she wasn’t used to this type of mission, especially not with her new abilities, and she still felt nervous. She was excited to share her team’s new cure for progeria, and even though biopods weren’t ready to go public yet, due to so many social norms, she knew that she had built a publicly acceptable safety-net, for a viable cure, and she looked forward to this opportunity to meet Erin’s wonderful family and help them. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to scare them with her plethora of abilities, or her new-found weaknesses, so she worked hard to control them.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you, Amber. I’m as good as good can be. Would you like to come in?” Beverly was floored by how attractive, calm, and genteel Amber was.

  “Sure,” Amber said as she felt a sense of acceptance from the family right away, based on their posture and their expressions. She felt more at ease. “Less likely to glow,” she thought as she mentally coached herself. “This is your first public visit since training in the campuses, Amber. We’re all human, so just you relax. I suppose I can let go, be myself, and this seems to be working—I’ll just be me!” Amber thought, thinking of one of her favorite tunes by electronic and trance music vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw. She picked up her bags, nodded a thank you to Beverly, smiled at Erin and Daniel who stood a few feet back and were both trying to peer over Beverly’s shoulder, and stepped inside. “What a beautiful family!”

  Amber came into Erin’s and Daniel’s view and introduced herself.

  “I’m Amber, and you must be Erin,” Amber smiled and offered a handshake to her little yet brittle hands. “Of course, it’s Erin,” Amber thought. And then she saw Erin smile, and that was what Amber needed, to completely calm her nerves. She temporarily put on her analytical mindset, in the interest of understanding Erin even deeper. “What a darling young girl. Wow! Her parents have inve
sted in orthodontics and she is obviously very good with hygiene,” Amber tried not to judge but was looking at it purely from a medical standpoint.

  “And you must be Amber?” asked Erin. To Erin, based on what Mom had said, Amber was a wonderful friend of Eliza, and there was a glow about Eliza that she had noticed, but Erin had told no one. Seeing Amber for the first time, she noticed that she too glowed like Eliza and Erin thought of Amber and Eliza as angels. That luminescent glow about her and Eliza, that she didn’t dare describe, was something that instantly brought a sense of calm to Erin as well.

  “Hello, Amber. My name is Daniel. I am Erin’s father, good to meet you. I am of the understanding that you are a Delegate, our Delegate to Pathway LLC and that we will be heading to Massachusetts soon? Oh, pardon me. Please have a seat.” Daniel was clearly more nervous than Amber, and Amber could tell. From Daniel’s standpoint, she was gorgeous, smart, and was about to help his little girl. He didn’t know what to say or how to say it. He loved his wife dearly and did not want to embarrass her in any way. So, he maintained a sense of professionalism, charm, kindness, and hospitality.

  From Amber’s standpoint, he was a very handsome man right off, with a cute and awkward personality.

  From Beverly’s standpoint, she was proud of Daniel for being the charming man he was. It worked wonders when meeting people.

  “Yes, I wanted to meet with you, to talk with all three of you about what we plan on doing and see what you think about it all. Also, if you would like, before we go in the morning, I wouldn’t mind if you would show me some of your favorite places around town? Oh, Erin, I understand that you enjoy the crane migration. I know many of them are gone or are heading south at this time of year, but maybe instead of walking there since it might be a little too cold, could we drive to the Archway and look out the window at the Platte River? Maybe you could show me where you typically go?”