Gnotret (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles Book 1)

by S. E. Cyborski

  question about being sexually active seemed out of place to me but perhaps hormones

  interacted with the drug we were going to test. I answered yes to that one, though it made me a

  little embarrassed. My love life was always something I’d tried to keep private.

  The questions veered back to normal health concerns, this time focusing on my family. It

  asked about mental illnesses and terminal diseases, something which I did indeed have in my

  family. My aunt had died from cancer and a couple of my distant cousins suffered from Bipolar

  Disorder. Mygrandmother had Alzheimer’s and passed away from a heart attack. As I was

  answering all these questions, I spared a moment to be grateful that I didn’t have any of these

  problems. I was as healthy as I possibly could be. This section took me a while to fill out; I had

  to stop every few seconds to think through my family tree. Finally, I answered the last question

  in that section and flipped to the next sheet.

  The next questions had to do with my dreams and beliefs. This made no sense at all to

  me; what did what my goals have to do with the trial? Shrugging again, I filled out the answers

  and tried not to start worrying all over again. I kept telling myself that Dr. Carnesby was just

  being thorough and I had no idea what the drug might do. Finally, I reached the end of the

  questionnaire and took a deep breath. I stretched and shook my hand, trying to dispel some of

  the strain from my fingers. While I’d been writing, I’d heard footsteps down the hallway as the

  others finished their physicals and went to their rooms to fill out the forms.

  Standing, I clipped the papers back onto the clipboard and walked out of my room to find

  Dr. Carnesby. I appeared to be the first one done, which made sense since I got the questionnaire first. I saw Amy sitting in the kitchen, the tip of the pen caught between her teeth. I

  smiled and hugged her again.

  “Some of the questions get weird,” I said softly against her hair. “I really hope they don’t

  come into play with the drug.”

  “Aww, don’t tell me, George,” Amy said playfully. “Part of the fun is finding out for

  myself.”

  “All right, Tink, I won’t tell you anymore,” I replied, kissing her temple. “Enjoy your

  weirdness. I’m going to find out if Adam has anything else planned for us.”

  “Love you,” Amy said absently as I walked away, already concentrating on the

  questions. I turned to smile at her and then headed to the office. I knocked and pushed the door

  open when Dr. Carnesby’s voice called out.

  “I finished,” I explained, holding out the clipboard. “Is there anything else you need to

  do?”

  “Ah, good,” Dr. Carnesby said, taking the clipboard and tucking it into a drawer in the

  desk. “And there is one last thing. I’d like for you to take a stress test. You have two options: you

  can run on a treadmill for 20 minutes or I can perform it chemically.”

  “Treadmill’s fine with me,” I said hastily. “I don’t really want to be taking other drugs while

  doing this trial since I don’t know how they’ll interact.”

  “Very true,” Dr. Carnesby approved. “Better safe than sorry, eh? Very well then, the

  treadmill is in the back corner of the lab. Walk for two minutes to get warmed up then run for

  fifteen. I want you to cool down for three and that will be the test.”

  “Sounds good. See you in 20 minutes,” I said. I walked out to the laboratory and found

  the treadmill quickly. After being told where it was, it was almost impossible not to see it. I got

  on and started it, programming the time and following the directions Dr. Carnesby laid out. While

  I ran, Sandra and Michael came back with their own questionnaires. They looked curiously at me but ignored me as I ignored them while running. Talking right now was real far down on my

  list of things to do at the moment.

  The time passed quickly and the treadmill beeped to let me know it was time for my

  three minute cooldown. I started walking thankfully and took several deep breaths. As I finished,

  Billy came up with his own clipboard and nodded at me. I nodded back and stepped off the

  treadmill, following him to the office.

  “Billy, why don’t you do the stress test next since George is done?” Dr. Carnesby

  suggested as I stood in the doorway. “You have the same option: treadmill or chemical.”

  “I think I’ll go with the treadmill as well,” Billy mused softly, staring over my shoulder out

  into the lab. “I’ve never had a problem with running. It’s rather soothing for me.”

  “All right, I want you to walk for two minutes then run for fifteen then walk for another

  three,” Dr. Carnesby said, nodding. “Michael and Sandra have opted for the chemical stress test

  so I’m going to be administering that while you’re running.”

  Billy nodded and walked out to the laboratory. I heard the familiar sounds of the treadmill

  starting up again and the beeping as Billy programmed it. Solid footsteps sounded as Michael

  and Sandra came back, looking at Dr. Carnesby expectantly.

  “Is there anything else you need me to do?” I asked, moving out of the doorway so the

  others could go in.

  “Not at the moment, no,” Dr. Carnesby said, readying two needles with a dose of what I

  could see on the bottle was adenosine. “Feel free to clean up and get some lunch. The first

  injection of the drug will happen at five PM tonight. I want to have a set schedule for the

  injections over the next six days.”

  “See you later then,” I said, waving and backing away. “And good luck with your stress

  test, Michael, Sandra.”

  Michael grimaced at me but Sandra just nodded, her eyes on the needle. I couldn’t tell if

  it was fear or anticipation in her eyes then decided that it wasn’t my business. I really didn’t need to know anything relating to that. Amy was still in the kitchen, determinedly filling out her

  questionnaire and completely absorbed in it. I decided not to bother her and stepped quietly

  through the kitchen to my room.

  Once there, I took a quick shower and changed again, hoping absently that there was a

  washer and dryer here so I didn’t have to keep re-wearing dirty clothes. Dr. Carnesby had

  thought of everything else, I can only assume he had made the place completely self-sufficient.

  Then I remembered that Jane basically ran the place and decided to ask her.

  “Jane, I have a question for you,” I said to the empty room. “Is there a washer and dryer

  here?”

  “Yes there is,” Jane replied promptly. “There’s a small door off the kitchen that leads to a

  pantry and then what I like to call the utility room. You’ll find everything you need there.”

  “Thanks,” I told her. I was already getting used to speaking to her, even though I couldn’t

  see a person. She was politer than most people I’d met and very helpful. I’m pretty sure I

  wouldn’t mind spending the next month in her company. Plus, I’d get to play chess with

  someone without having to go out to the coffee shop near Amy’s and my apartment.

  “I don’t have anything planned until five,” I said conversationally, heading back to the

  kitchen. “Want to play a game of chess after I eat?”

  “Who are you talking to?” Amy asked me as I entered the kitchen. She was holding her

  clipboard and was in the middle of standing up.

  “J
ane,” I replied at the same time Jane said, “Of course.”

  “It can play games?” Amy asked, tilting her head to the side.

  “She can. And I think it might be more respectful to refer to Jane as her,” I chided her,

  shaking my head.

  “It’s a computer program, not a person,” Amy retorted before walking away.

  “Sorry about that,” I apologized to Jane. I felt really bad since I’d come to consider the AI

  just as much of a sentient being as I was. “It’s all right,” Jane said soothingly. “None of the other participants have considered me

  anything other than an intrusive recording device.”

  “You don’t sound like one,” Billy interjected, coming into the kitchen. He was panting

  slightly from his stress test but looked fine otherwise.

  “Thank you,” Jane said, surprise evident in her voice again. I wondered if that nebulous

  person who’d programmed her had considered that she might have feelings and emotions of

  her own.

  “I was just about to make lunch, you want something?” I offered, looking at Billy. He

  shook his head and replied, “No, I think I’m going to take a shower and then hang out in the

  lounge until theinjection later tonight.”

  “All right. I’m going to be playing a game with Jane,” I said, pulling out the ingredients for

  a sandwich from the fridge. “You’re welcome to join us if you like.”

  “I may just take you up on that,” Billy smiled, running a hand over his hair. “But right now,

  I’m going to clean up. See you later.”

  I nodded, intent on making my sandwich. I looked around the kitchen and found a bag of

  chips, opening it and pouring some on a plate. Hearing footsteps, I looked up to see Michael

  and Sandra walking slowly towards me. They both looked flushed and tired, as if they’d run too

  far a little too fast.

  “You guys all right?” I asked, concerned. Sandra nodded and grimaced before

  wordlessly marching down the hallway and into her own room. Michael stopped in the kitchen

  and used the things I had left out to make a sandwich of his own.

  “The chemical stress test is a pain,” he complained after taking a big bite out of his

  sandwich. “I’m glad it’s over.”

  “You should have just run on the treadmill,” I said, shaking my head. “I had a chemical

  stress test before and it wasn’t pleasant. I don’t like feeling my heart racing like that and I can’t

  control it.” Michael sighed and ate more of his sandwich. I wandered out to the lounge, turning on

  the TV before sitting down at the table. There was some sort of sitcom on, the canned laughter

  echoing around the room. I watched it with one eye while I finished eating, not really following

  what was going on.

  After I cleaned up after myself, I found the chessboard and pulled it out. I set up all the

  pieces and took a moment to remember what each one was and how they moved. By that time,

  Billy had come back and taken up residence in one of the armchairs.

  “Jane, would you like white or black?” I asked, offering to let the AI choose who went

  first.

  “I’ll take black,” she replied, giving me first move. I moved a pawn forward two spaces,

  speaking out loud as I did so. I didn’t know if Jane was able to see as well as hear.

  “Pawn to D 5,” Jane said and I moved the pawn for her. We continued to play, taking

  pieces here and there. Billy watched, an interested look on his face. Finally, he got up and

  joined me at the small table, moving Jane’s pieces for her. Before too long, I could see that I

  was most likely going to lose. I only played as a hobby, not seriously, and Jane was very good.

  “Checkmate,” Jane said, satisfaction in her tone as Billy moved her knight in to bracket

  my king. I looked over the board, hoping there was a way to salvage my game. I sighed and

  tipped over the king, acknowledging defeat.

  “Good game, Jane,” I congratulated her, smiling up at the ceiling.

  “It was. Maybe next time I can teach you to play Mancala,” Jane offered. I put the pieces

  away, packing them in the fitted holes in the box.

  “That sounds like fun,” I replied.

  “I know how to play,” Billy said suddenly, staring over at the games. “I’ll play with you if

  you like, Jane. We can teach George while we play.”

  I checked the clock hanging in the lounge and saw that it was three PM. We still had

  time, the chess game taking a far shorter time than it felt. I nodded and Billy grabbed the Mancala box. He set up the wooden board, dropping the colorful stone counters in the holes.

  There were two lines of holes with a bigger dish at each end. Each hole got four counters while

  the extras went to the side.

  “The point of the game is to have the most counters in your dish at the end,” Billy

  explained after he had filled each hole. “You have to pick up all the counters from one hole and

  drop one in each hole leading to the other dish. The side on your right goes towards my dish

  and the side on your left goes towards yours. Play moves around in a counterclockwise fashion

  if you have more tokens and don’t stop in a dish. If you finish in your dish, you get to go again.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” I said hesitantly. “Why don’t you show me first? I’ll move Jane’s

  pieces.”

  “Of course,” Jane said smoothly. “Billy, would you like to go first?”

  “Thank you,” Billy said, picking up the counters from the hole four spaces away from his

  and dropping them one at a time into the holes. He finished in his dish, saying it so that Jane

  was aware, and picked up another set of counters. Continuing around the board, Billy dropped

  the last one in the hole right before his dish.

  “All right, Jane, your turn,” Billy said. He smiled up at the ceiling as well, imitating me. It

  really was easier to pretend Jane was a person and look up to speak to her.

  “I would like to mirror your first move, Billy, on my side of the board,” Jane said. Billy

  nodded to me and pointed to the hole fourth away from my dish on the left side of the board. I

  picked up the counters and dropped them in the holes, finishing in the hole just after my dish..

  It was Billy’s turn then and he moved the counters, adding more to the holes on Jane’s side of

  the board. The game was really very easy to learn, with no complicated moves or rules. The first

  game ended quickly, Billy beating Jane by three counters. We set up the board again and I

  played against Billy, each of us playing with advice from Jane. The last two hours before the

  injections passed companionably, though neither of us saw the others. “I believe it is time to end the games,” Jane interrupted finally. “It’s five PM and Dr.

  Carnesby will be wanting to proceed with the trial.”

  “Thank you, Jane, it was a lot of fun playing with you,” I said while Billy nodded

  emphatically. He picked up the counters and put them in the soft black bag and put the game

  back in its box. Heading back towards the kitchen, we found the others all arriving as well.

  “So, first injection,” Michael said, rubbing his hands together. “I wonder what it’s going to

  do?”

  “Who knows?” Amy asked, shrugging. “As long as it doesn’t make my hair fall out or give

  me an allergic reaction, I’ll be fine with it.”

  “Has he told anyone what it does? Or what it’s supposed to be for?” Sandra asked,
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  looking around and meeting each of our eyes. We all shook our heads, though Michael had a

  thoughtful look on his face.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked, nodding at him.

  “Well, Dr. Carnesby said he gets funding from the government for this,” Michael mused.

  “What if it’s some sort of vaccine or maybe an immunity to chemical weapons or something?”

  “It shouldn’t hurt us, though,” Amy murmured doubtfully. “I mean, if it’s up to human

  testing, they had to have gone through animals first.” I could tell she was trying to reassure

  herself as well as the rest of us, repeating an argument we’d had earlier. Her confidence in the

  trial seemed to be slipping and I wondered if it was due to the questionnaire. Hoping to reassure

  her, I moved to take Amy’s hand and squeezed it gently. She smiled at me in relief and I

  couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Maybe, but vaccines are basically weaker versions of the disease,” Billy suggested, his

  voice pensive. “So if it is a vaccine, it may end up giving us the disease for a little while.”

  “Wait, what if he gives us a terminal illness or an incurable one?” Sandra demanded, her

  voice rising in anger and fear. “I mean, we all signed waivers so we can’t even sue him if this

  goes wrong.” “I can assure you that Gnotret is not a vaccine,” Dr. Carnesby’s voice interrupted. He

  sounded amused, as if he dealt with hysterics all the time. Though, he did run medical trials with

  experimental drugs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

  “All the animal testing was positive and none died,” he continued. “So you can rest easy

  Sandra that you should come to no harm while testing the drug.”

  She nodded though there was still a suspicious look in her eyes. I just shrugged

  internally; I’d already decided to go through with the trial and I was stuck here just as the rest of

  us were. What was the point in complaining and worrying now?

  “So, I have your injections here,” Dr. Carnesby said, brandishing a small pouch. He

  opened it to show us capped needles and a small, clear bottle with no label. The liquid inside

  was actually a very pleasant pale blue. Everyone crowded forward to see better as Dr.

  Carnesby pulled the bottle out of the pouch. “Now we can either do this here or we can go to my