by Dane, Max
Jeff was sending a message to his wife, when he got the invitation from Ryan to come down. Finishing his message to Kali, he shot a quick response to Ryan, and headed down to visit with him. He was happy not to talk on this floor.
There were too many ears.
When he arrived, Ryan jumped up and met him at the doorway.
“Jeff, it’s so good to see you. Thank you again, for all of your help the other day.”
“Oh sure, did the procedure help at all?”
“Well, yes actually, and I have a story to tell. Come in, have a seat. Please allow me to introduce Jim Safe, ‘programmer extraordinaire’. Jim has been helping me on the same project from the Information Services side, and I thought it would fun to have you both here at the same time.”
Jeff and Jim exchanged handshakes and sat down in Ryan’s ‘visitor’ chairs.
As they talked about Ryan’s project, they covered a lot of ground neither Jeff nor Jim knew. They talked about the data comparison tests, and the walk-through of the actual hospital treatment area. As he told his story, they came to understand the scope of the problem was bigger than they thought it was.
Then the bombshell.
Jeff and Jim were stunned when Ryan told them it was happening at two other facilities, London and Sydney.
Jeff said, “I guess that makes sense. The other facilities should have the exact same systems we have, including all of our strengths and vulnerabilities.”
“Exactly,” said Jim.
“You know I’ve already told Ben and Dorothy that the problem was identified in London and Sydney, and I expected to see it elsewhere too. But what we should start considering, is that it may actually be happening everywhere,” said Ryan.
Suddenly Ryan remembered something from when he first started on this project.
“You know, I just remembered something odd. When I was first being interviewed, SID joined Dorothy, Ben and I. SID said that the problem was ‘limited in scope, and localized in proximity’.”
“Well, SID got that wrong,” said Jeff.
“Or he lied,” said Jim.
Jeff said, “SID doesn’t lie, but he does make mistakes. In the labs, we work with SID every day, and I can tell you he makes assertions all the time that don’t pan out. We often debate ideas for new experiments. A lot of times SID will assert that if we try turning off a particular receptor, the trial will work. Often as not, after the experiments are finished, we find that his idea did not work. He is more like a colleague than an infallible servant.”
Smiling, Jim said, “Hmm, that’s an interesting way to look at him Jeff, I think I like that.”
“By the way, I have a question for both of you,” Jim continued, “we’ve been put on high alert for a huge ramp-up in activity, apparently in response to something.”
He lowered his voice, “I’m hearing a lot of weird rumors. Do either of you know what’s going on?”
Jim and Ryan both looked sideways at Jeff.
“Oh sure, you both look at the Indian guy, because I should know?”
They all started laughing.
Jeff got up and walked over to Ryan’s window and looked out.
“The problem is that I do know.”
Startled by the sudden truth, Ryan and Jim stopped laughing.
“Jeff… what did you say?”
“As your friend, I want to say that what I know is terrible indeed. It has made me miserable, and it will you, too. The news will work its way to the mainstream press soon enough. Do you really want me to tell you, are you sure?”
Jim was remembering David, and how he wanted to stock up on supplies.
He thought, ‘Damn, maybe he wasn’t so crazy after all.’
“Yes,” said Jim nodding.
Ryan was not as sure. He had a family, and terrible news could threaten them all.
He nodded much more slowly than Jim.
“Remember that I warned you,” said Jeff, and then he turned towards Ryan, “Ryan, you actually stumbled on this before I did. You will have to forgive me if I don’t thank you.”
Jeff paused; this was the first time he had told anyone. In a way it was almost therapeutic to speak of it, to share the dark burden.
“Do you remember when you asked me about why IntelliHealth had information on everyone who had been vaccinated? You made the point that many people must be going to other places to get their shots. Why then, would the local government and clinics pass those numbers on to IntelliHealth?”
Ryan was nodding.
“The answer is IntelliHealth has been working with governments around the world in an effort to gather as accurate a world-census as possible. I should tell you that I recently attended a meeting, where we were addressed by the actual IntelliHealth founder, Dr. Sid Frances.”
“What? Really?” said Jim excited.
“He told us that recent data confirms the human population has become sterile. He suggested that we could disappear altogether in only two generations.”
Ryan felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.
He didn’t know what to say.
Jim spoke first, “Why? How did it happen?”
“Well that’s the problem,” said Jeff, “No one knows.”
Jeff walked back to them and sat down.
”That’s why we are ramping up. That’s why we have labs moving in, and re-organizing. That’s why we have shiny new equipment coming in every day. IntelliHealth is working with every government on Earth to solve this mystery.”
He rubbed his eyes, pushed his hair back.
“I’m sorry my friend, now you know.”
Ryan didn’t really remember driving home that night.
He remembered being at work and having a good day. He remembered basking in his success, and patting himself on the back.
Then he felt as if he’d been mugged.
He couldn’t really believe it. He had just been told the end of mankind was looming just ahead. Only three weeks ago, his worst problem was a stiff depression for not having a job.
Surely Jeff had it wrong.
He was a young doctor, and maybe he was impulsive. Maybe he misunderstood what had been said at some meeting, and this was simply one of those times when a rumor got started. He remembered that game kids would play where one person whispered a secret to the next, and then the next, and so on. At the end, the secret was something completely different. That must be it.
Except that, it fit the clues he had found. The mystery of the census numbers at IntelliHealth was solved. He felt sick.
Suddenly his dark reverie was broken by the welcome intrusion of his wife’s agitated voice.
“What’s wrong with you, get up off that couch and come in here, dinner’s ready.” Jean had been calling Ryan and Alex to dinner for about 10 minutes, and she was getting frustrated.
Ryan went to the table and sat down.
“Daddy you didn’t wash your hands. Mommy, Daddy didn’t wash his hands first,” said Alex. Recently, Alex had become very excited to rat out either or both of them. Alex was the ‘stoolie’ in the Dane household. For an 8 year old, that kind of power was a rush.
Without arguing, Ryan went and washed his hands. Alex was telling them about why he didn’t like music class. Ryan ate his dinner and moved like a robot to the kitchen where he put away the dishes. Jean could see that there was something bothering him.
As the night went on, she gave Alex his bath, got his milk and waited for him to fall asleep. Downstairs, she found Ryan moving through the news channels. She sat and watched silently in the background. First he went through them singly, and then he gathered particular ones together and had them all playing at once. He seemed to be looking for something in particular.
Suddenly, Ryan found it; a story about the declining birth rate.
Somewhere a woman was being interviewed “… noticed that the birthing wards in our local hospitals have been reducing their staff. It seems that the number of babies being born recently ha
s dropped.”
The story went to another person elsewhere.
“I believe we have reached a point in history when people simply prefer smaller families.”
Talking to the audience, the reporter said, “Is this a sign of a ‘new-world’ way of thinking; perhaps a new more-evolved model of the nuclear family?”
Shifting again to a new location, the reporter stood in front of a digital billboard advertising a fertility clinic. There was a giant picture of a man and woman looking down at their new baby in a crib. The reporter said, “Fertility clinics are on the rise. There are more fertility clinics now than there are grocery stores, or emergency centers, or dentists. Why?”
The picture shifted again, showing a man inside a fertility clinic. The waiting room was full, and in the background, someone was talking with the receptionist.
He said, “I believe that people are living longer, and naturally having less children because of it. It is the way of things, a natural balance of the world.”
The image shifted back to the news center. The reporter continued, “It is the opinion of this reporter that the real numbers will prove more drastic than what these suggested ideas can account for. Local doctors seem uncomfortable to talk about the issue, and government officials aren’t talking either. So far there has been no statement from the officials at IntelliHealth.”
”Join me again tomorrow, when I try to speak with Jon Will from the IntelliHealth Communications Office.”
Jean sat down next to Ryan, “So what’s up?”
He was startled that she was there. Ryan wasn’t ready to tell her the news in all its gory detail. Not yet. What if Jeff had it wrong?
“Oh, well I was just watching the news.”
“I can see that. So why out of all these stories, were you listening to a story about having babies?” she said.
“I heard a disturbing rumor at work today.”
“Well you know how rumors are, all bullshit and excitement.”
He looked back at the news shows all laid out on the vid.
“Yeah, I know.”
“So, what exactly did you hear, Ryan?”
“There may be truth to the idea that people are having fewer babies,” he said.
“That’s not good. Did you hear why?”
“No, not really.” Skirting the question, he said, “It was the level of concern I saw that makes me think there might be at least some truth to it.”
He went on, “One thing is certain Jean, the people at IntelliHealth are increasing workloads, reassigning projects, and re-prioritizing everything. Something is up.”
She leaned back into the couch, and watched as he moved between the news channels.
Leaning against him, she said, “Okay, that is odd.”
In Jeff Sarin’s house, they were getting ready for dinner.
When Kali brought Jeff his fish for dinner, she was talking about their appointment this Saturday to go see their fertility specialist. He was not excited about going, or about paying for an expensive and now apparently useless procedure. But mostly, he didn’t want to go through any more emotional roller coasters, waiting to see if the treatment worked.
Having given it much thought, he also decided he would not be the one to tell Kali.
He rationalized that IntelliHealth would fix this.
They cured cancer, fixed HIV/aids they will fix this too. There was no reason to decimate her emotionally just to share his grief. Besides, having talked with Ryan and Jim, he did feel less a victim. They were all going to work together, and they would solve this. Even the world governments were working together, providing enormous resources.
‘It was just a matter of time,’ he thought to himself.
It was a rationalization he could live with.
He looked at her and said, “You know what Kali, I would like to get away. Why don’t we jump down and visit your parents this weekend?”
“Really Vignesh? That would be wonderful!” she said suddenly excited, “I’ll call them after dinner.”
Kali’s parents had retired to Bermuda, and going to visit them had become a true vacation. She was excited about the visit, and began going over all the details.
It was a good idea.
He ate his fish, and it was good.
They didn’t watch the news that night.
Meanwhile across the city, in an apartment overlooking the park, Jim’s doorbell rang. He had been drinking. He opened the door to see the delivery girl with his pizza. Pushing money into her hand, he took the box. She was still talking to him when he shut the door. Yes, she could have the rest of the money, whatever.
‘Just go away,’ he thought.
Returning to his couch, he opened it and ate it over the box. The story Jeff had told was weird and terrible. Could it be true? Being single, it was at times like this when he might regret not having someone to share this with.
Most of his friends were married.
Some had even had time to get divorced, too.
At thirty-three and still very good-looking, he had his share of opportunities. But he thought of himself as still too much of a kid to get involved. He had a good job, one that could be called a good career.
He was generally happy.
Generally.
‘What would the world be like without humans?’ he wondered.
Maybe ‘better’, was the truth.
Still though, the idea seemed ethereal. With no wife, no kids, and no family, his own investment in the world was less than someone like Ryan. His own life would come and go without any change.
So why did he feel so damn angry about it?
Because someone had caused this.
Some asshole scientist with their bullshit experiments had screwed around with their fancy toys and killed us all.
He opened another beer and drank the smooth cool beverage to the bottom, placing the dead can next to its four brothers on the bar.
In the end, he thought, after they ran around and screamed and yelled, that’s what it would come down to, some asshole in a white lab coat. The very nice man or woman who had done this had probably even received some kind of award for it. Best genetic manipulation of the year goes to ‘Dr. Kilzusalle’.
He walked out onto the porch and threw his can as high as he could.
“You bastards.”
He had some more pizza, and turned on the vid.
There was a documentary on about how the dinosaurs had become extinct. He started laughing and couldn’t stop.
The phone rang, it was a Linda; a girl that he’d been dating on and off.
She was nearby, and wanted to come visit.
“Sure, that would be great, come on over,” he said still chuckling out loud.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Oh, nothing. A documentary about us.”
“Okay, well I’ll see you soon.”
He hung up and looked around the room; it was all kinds of a mess.
‘I’m sorry baby, the end of the world is here, and I didn’t really feel like cleaning up,’ he thought.
He put the beer cans away, the pizza on the bar and looked at himself in a mirror.
Even at the end of the world, he looked good.
CHAPTER 9
“For a while" is a phrase whose length can't be measured. At least by the person who's waiting.”
― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun
It was Wednesday, and Ryan was waiting.
His notes were spread out on his desk, carefully arranged in specific groups. He was focused on the last set, and reviewed their order. He had spoken with Laura Stems, from Patient Services at the London Facility. After having confirmed their treatment errors, on Laura’s advice, he went to the Sydney facility in Australia. It was in Sydney that he met Sarah Warren, and Dr. Moore.
With two confirmed hits, he had updated Dorothy Allen, the Director of Patient Services here at Ryan’s Facility. Based on his investigation, Dorothy was s
omewhere right now initiating official dialogues with London and Sydney.
Getting Dorothy involved was like starting a fire; it was beyond his control now. He imagined an investigation at the top would be initiated. Perhaps someone would ask for his data, perhaps not. Just in case, he thought he should assemble everything and document it as best he could. He re-shuffled the last two pages and placed them on top of the last set of notes. They were ready.
For now he had to wait for new direction from Ben and Dorothy.
He pulled out the global list of IntelliHealth facilities and wondered where another possible candidate might be. He was drawn to Tokyo. He understood they had a great team there. The better the people, the quicker they would be to spot the anomaly.
Drifting, he began to wonder if someone could be swapping treatments on purpose. What could cause someone to try to harm patients across the IntelliHealth network of hospitals? It didn’t make sense. The whole mission of working for the betterment of mankind seemed to permeate every aspect of their work. Who would want to randomly harm the patients?