The Ice House

by Ray Ouellette

  “I imagine she looked forward to the end of the school year,” commented Frank. “There was nothing she could do.”

  “He was devious. Evil and also a boy genius. He acted like a little angel when he was with other teachers and in the principal's office. And he rarely let the other kids see the torment that he directed toward the teacher.” Lynn saw that Frank was deep in thought now, a blank expression on his face, maybe picturing the battle between student and teacher in his mind. She got him back. “Frank?” He nodded for her to go ahead.

  “The teacher decided to set up a hidden surveillance camera in the classroom, not worrying about the legal implications. She recorded all the remaining school classes that she had him in. She didn't tell anyone and I only found out about it later when she was brought up on charges for finally smacking the boy. She produced the footage to prove that the boy deserved what he got, that anyone would have snapped and struck him, but somehow the boy must have found out about it and found where they were hidden and wiped them clean. She was dismissed from her job. The boy probably came back next year all prepared to do it to another teacher.

  That's the kind of mind that I experienced from Lawrence Lowell in the dream. This kid was evil and incredibly smart, Lawrence Lowell was evil and incredibly rich...apparently. What is it they always say on TV news when they talk about a criminal? Allegedly?”

  “Allegedly,” Frank confirmed. “Let's hope it's just that! I mean it's just a dream, right?”

  “It's a dream, but I really think the dreams I've had lately are valid views of past lives. I'm being given a look back for some reason.” She looked off to the side for a moment, then back, shook her head slowly, then said, “They started, after all, when yours started, around the same time. Why?”

  “Maybe all the talking we've done about reincarnation and psychic phenomena?”

  “Yeah, maybe.” She settled for that explanation for now but wondered.

  CHAPTER 19

  Frank's first hours back at the Ice House were spent in discussion about the possible paths that their experiments might take and what ideas to try for over coming the possibility that Lawrence Lowell's spirit may have been reincarnated into Frank's body. Frank contributed, trying to think of a way to help the staff revive Lawrence Lowell without his own existence being threatened. He had no choice but to be there, as uncomfortable as it made him feel, knowing that his being alive was the one thing that stood in the way of the project's success.

  Frank and some members of the staff sat around a table in the lounge area. One of the possibilities explored was a sharing of the spirit, with Frank alive half of the time and Lawrence Lowell having the spirit the other half of the time. This was rejected because the staff felt that this solution, or partial solution, would not meet the criteria of Lawrence Lowell's lawyers criteria that was to be used to determine the success of the project. Some way would have to be found for Lawrence Lowell to permanently have his soul and not be alive half the time and frozen or on life support the other half.

  Another idea was to explore some way in which the spirit might be split between the two, or in other words, one spirit stretched between two people, existing in them and also between them in the beyond. Bostwick contributed that a lot of researchers thought that was the condition of the soul in identical twins, one soul shared by two individuals, and that was why identical twins seemed to feel each other's pain, moods, and thoughts, even if they were thousands of miles apart. It was decided to explore this possibility further, although nobody present could suggest a possible procedure or an experiment that might result in such a condition.

  So far, every time Frank or Lawrence Lowell was revived, the other faded and had to be put on life support or receive CPR or be brought back to consciousness. Frank's body seemed to have precedence over possession of the spirit. When he was conscious and he desired to be in his body, he would be. In other words, they decided, although the sharing of the soul seemed to have possibilities, it was another idea that would have to be shelved as impractical, or at least unattainable for now.

  The room was silent for a while with no further ideas. One of the staff got up and went over to the soda cooler and took out a cola. The pop of the can opening was a welcome break in the silence. When the talk resumed it even turned for a while, with apologies from the staff and assurances that it was all theoretical talk which was designed to lead to other ideas, to what would happen if Frank was dead and to whether that would lead to a permanent revival of Lowell's consciousness.

  Frank found it impossible to discuss this theoretical 'what if' and remained silent and listened to make sure the talk on this subject didn't deviate from the theoretical. After hours of trying to come up with a solution to the problem, Frank now felt that the staff was just going through the motions and had reached the conclusion that reviving Lawrence Lowell was impossible while Frank was alive. Would they give up, would they just do related research indefinitely to keep their funding, or would they change their tactics? Frank wondered what he would hear if he could hear the discussions during the other shifts, when he wasn't at the Ice House.

  The experiments were put on hold during the discussion phase. Lawrence Lowell's body was left on life support in the medical section. The person in charge of this domain was Randolph Hill. He held the position of the project's medical director. Forty years ago he had been the doctor who had pronounced Lawrence Lowell dead. Between that time and now, his main duty was to rise beyond the station he had held in the medical world, that of a mediocre oncologist. He had been driven out of his position at a prestigious hospital after being blamed for almost killing a patient by prescribing a penicillin-related drug when the patient was allergic to penicillin. The patient was left with numerous neurological deficits and he sued. Hill defended himself to his colleagues at the M & M hearing but a scapegoat was necessary to placate the patient and his family. His credentials were revoked, a settlement was made to the man and his family, and Hill was unable to practice again in that state. A quick voluntary bankruptcy released him from subrogation by the hospital's insurance company and he moved to New York where he was recruited by Lawrence Lowell who needed a medical person, knowledgeable about cancer who was having difficulty with his career and so would be willing to bend the rules as might be required, a sort of concierge doctor for just one person.

  Hill was built like a white blood cell, rather shapeless and he would add to the image by engulfing his food as a white blood cell surrounds a virus. He'd move up to his plate and before it knew what had hit it, the contents of the plate would be surrounded by Hill's digestive tract.

  Neatness and grace were not required by this project however, only that he fill his head with every bit of knowledge that was available or that became available about Leukemia. He was required to make himself the world's greatest authority on the disease and accept the fact that he would never be recognized as such by the medical world and would never get a second chance outside the Ice House. This was compensated for by the great pay for however long the project took and a million dollar bonus, tax paid, adjusted for inflation when the project was completed and Lawrence Lowell was revived and cured of Leukemia. Hill's voice even gave the impression of excess weight and out-of-shape softness, possibly caused by difficulty moving his jaws due to abundant jowls.

  Frank's next shift stretched into the evening due to animated discussions about a paper that Randolph Hill had come across. Frank decided that he'd like to take a walk into town during a break in the discussion. He figured if he took longer than a normal break it wouldn't matter due to the technical nature of the discussion being over Frank's head anyway. The night was clear and the temperature was mild. “Is it okay?”

  “Better drive. There's no danger of crime but the police have your license number and won't bother you if you're driving, but if they see you walking, there's a chance you'll be stopped as an unrecognized person and questioned. You need a town resident ID. We can get one for you tomorrow at the T
own Hall if you'd like.”

  Frank parked in the downtown area and walked around. He figured he wouldn't be stopped by Southford's equivalent of the SS there.

  A gentle breeze rustled the leaves and transported pleasing scents from the gardens that were everywhere. Frank actually found himself feeling safe, a feeling that he thought he'd never feel again, walking any street at night. A transient feeling crossed his mind that he could, under different circumstances get to like this place. Imagine walking the streets at night and not worrying about crime, but instead being concerned about being questioned by the police.

  There was a nineteen fifties type of atmosphere of safety as Frank perceived it from movies and TV shows and from stories told by older relatives about a time when families could go out for an evening, to a new concept in shopping called a shopping center or to the drive-in movie to see a Doris Day, Hitchcock or Disney double feature. A time when they could spend an evening downtown during the holiday season strolling the business district looking at Christmas displays. This was the atmosphere in Southford, the difference being that movies and TV shows about the fifties, portrayed the whole country like this. Southford was artificially propped up, an island in an ocean of stress and crime and increasingly unaffordable luxuries and technology, kept from falling apart by the bobby pins and chewing gum, duct tape and rubber bands that was Lawrence Lowell's money.

  Frank spotted a cafe with an elaborate but tasteful neon sign that looked more like it belonged in a museum of contemporary art than on the front of a cafe.

  As he opened the door, there was a lot of talking but as he entered, the talking stopped as people realized that there was a stranger in the place. Frank felt uncomfortable and said loudly to the woman at the counter, so that all could hear, “Hi. I'm a new member of the Ice House staff.”

  The waitress smiled and took his order. “Welcome to Southford,”she said. Frank noticed that she had on expensive-looking jewelry, and her name plate, which said Flo, was not the usual plastic but looked like gold with the lettering engraved into it.

  I wonder, thought Frank, what the minimum wage is in this town, or maybe it's the tips that are good.

  The conversation in the cafe resumed but Frank felt he was being watched.

  CHAPTER 20

  On their seventh day in Southford, Lynn planned to spend the day exploring, maybe speak to some of the residents and also spend three or four hours in the library searching through the back issues of the Southford Times to see if she could find anything pertinent to their problem. They said goodbye after breakfast and Frank went off to the Ice House. His shift that day was later, but he arrived early to check out a row of books that he had seen in the lounge. On the edge of the shelf, was labeled 'Unofficial Log of the Ice House.' Each book was for a year of the project. Anyone who wanted to could write his comments in the Unofficial Log.

  Frank picked up the 1964 book, the year of the beginning of the Ice House project. At first it was mostly Lowell and Bostwick that made entries, but as the rest of the staff came on board, they got into the spirit and made entries.

  In the 1965 book were entries saying 'Ice House complete' Staff fully assembled. Research begins on preservation techniques,' this entry signed by Lawrence Lowell himself.

  Wow, thought Frank, Lowell even called it the Ice House.

  In a 1966 book someone wrote, 'Walt Disney is dead!' The rumors had apparently had their effect on the Ice House staff. Frank found himself wondering what conversations went on among the staff. Was there now a sense of competition? Did they wonder if Walt Disney had set up some sort of similar facility out in California? But without a body yet to freeze, it wouldn't have been a competition yet anyway.

  Frank grabbed another log book at random, 1976. An entry, by Bostwick. 'The Ice House project has just taken on a sense of urgency. Our leader, Lawrence Lowell has been confirmed as having Leukemia. We are all somber after having been briefed by Mrs. Lowell herself, but at the same time we are all proud that the facility is ready for him should it become necessary. A cancer specialist is being added to the staff, with Mr. Lowell himself making the choice. The family is looking into treatment techniques and even experimental techniques as I write this.

  Another 1976 entry, much later, 'Lawrence Lowell was frozen in this facility today. Now is when we show what we're made of as scientists.'

  The next entry-'Lawrence Lowell rests in peace in the tomb within the Ice House.'

  An entry in 1976 book caught Frank's attention and sent a shiver up his spine. A hint about what little protest there was. The entry was not signed by anyone but said, 'Protest by religious group outside the Ice House gates and also downtown. Arrived in buses. Due to pre-arranged agreements with the media there was little media coverage. Group leaves when their leader dies in an accident. Frank stared at the entry for a while. Had they gotten rid of someone who caused them trouble or was it really an accident? He wondered if Lynn would come across anything on the incident in the back issues of the Southford Times.

  There were many entries in the following months about reversing cell damage from the freezing and about chemicals that might show promise. A botanical firm was put on retainer to supply plant material from all over the world on which could be done research to see if any new promising chemicals could be isolated to experiment with. There was a long stretch spoken about in the log where organic chemicals were tried in an attempt to plug holes in cell walls caused by ice crystals from the freezing, and experiments were done with compounds that might reverse the damage.

  A 1977 entry spoke of a program with the Ice House to examine the potential of at least 10,000 extracts from insects, venom, bodily chemicals of many species, etc..

  In a 1981 entry was mentioned an oceanographic supply house that obtained for the project extracts from sea animals, plankton and deep sea life for experimentation.

  In 1983, Lawrence Lowell was 'thawed' to 32 degrees and removed from his tank to move him to a new tank because of small amounts of nitric acid that forms during the off-gassing of the nitrogen, causing corrosion. This gives the staff the chance to evaluate the old tank for its performance and it is renovated and kept as a backup if needed.

  The 1984 book had a discussion about possible use of organ transplant to bypass some of the problems of ice damage to cells. Frank looked at the number of remaining year books and decided to put off looking through them.

  Lynn asked the librarian how she might look at the old newspapers for Southford. She made sure to say, “My husband was just employed by the Ice House, I'd like to learn about the history of the town. It's a beautiful and peaceful place.” A doubtful look from the librarian followed by a winning smile from Lynn resulted in directions to a spacious room with computers and Lynn set to work.

  Lynn examined articles about events involved in the construction of the Ice House and was most fascinated by the articles about each member of the staff as they were hired.

  She read the articles about Lawrence Lowell being removed from the storage tank that had experienced some corrosion and was amazed that 'The Ice House Citizens support committee' had begged for a public viewing if possible before Lowell's body was put in the new container and brought to the proper temperature for long term storage. The committee was concerned that the younger citizens of Southford had never seen Lawrence Lowell except in pictures and wanted to make him be more than just an abstraction to them, more than ancient history, so they would view Lowell as not just another historical figure like George Washington. The Ice House staff made special arrangements for this event by modifying a doorway into a glass partition made of bullet proof glass that the citizens could view Lowell's body through while his temperature was still kept low enough to be safe.

  She had read an article about the hiring of two biochemists and now she was reading about the death of one, Paul Owans, a few years later in a fiery crash at night. The short mention of this event made Lynn wonder why, remembering back to the previous issue that had covered h
is arrival in depth. Maybe there was a policy not to dwell on anything negative involving the project, but she made a note to ask Frank if he had heard about this man.

  There was a series of articles about suggestions by the Citizens committee about security measures that could be taken by citizens, and the police. She found one cryptic entry that intrigued her. There was mention of a gift by an F. S. Lowell of a dozen dashboard cameras for the police department. A cousin, she figured. A brother? A son? She read on.

  CHAPTER 21

  Back at the motel, Frank and Lynn compared notes. Who was Paul Owans? They decided to ask the only seemingly impartial person they knew...Scott, when they got a chance to visit him again. What were the circumstances of the fiery crash? Was there an investigation? Was foul play ruled out? And who was F. S. Lowell? He'd ask Bostwick about him. Probably just a relative who had attained wealth by hanging onto Lowell's coattails on the way up. Obviously at least well off, being able to contribute a dozen dashboard cameras to the police department.

  And what about the death of the leader of the protest? That was convenient for the Ice House. It put an end to a troubling protest that was growing.

  Frank found himself wondering if he might eventually fall into the category of people that the Ice House would like to see an accident happen to.

  Frank and Lynn decided to continue their conversation in the motel restaurant. They had ordered breakfast and Frank looked forward to French toast with 100% pure Vermont maple syrup, as the menu had promised.