Necrotic Earth

by SW Matthews

  “Little different than ours,” Tuck said.

  “No wonder this is the only way Doc travels.”

  The cockpit was appointed in the same style. Leather and polished wood everywhere. A single console ran the width of the space, curving slightly. Positioned behind it were two large chairs, each with controls built into the arms. A lower level, accessible between the pilot’s and copilot’s seats, led into the nose turret. But what had been the nose gunner’s compartment in the navy helijet was simply an observation area in this privately-owned version.

  Tuck whistled. “Kinda reminds me of the yacht in—”

  “Superman Returns!” Andy finished.

  The two looked at each other and smiled. “The Gertrude!” they said together.

  Andy sat in the pilot’s seat. “Setup is basically the same,” he said. “Some extra bells and whistles, but I can fly it.” He picked up the radio handset. “Let’s see if we can find Piper.”

  ***

  Judging by the equipment in the room on the bottom sublevel, it was clearly some kind medical laboratory. The area was smaller than the medical area two floors above, but a closed door in one wall led to another area. There was only one other person in the room—a woman dressed in scrubs—and she had her back to the door as Piper and Bandit entered.

  Piper put a hand on Bandit’s arm. “Don’t kill her. I’d like to get some information from her,” she whispered.

  He grimaced, but nodded.

  They silently approached the woman. When they were about ten feet from her, Bandit raised his sword and Piper raised her weapon.

  Piper cleared her throat.

  The woman spun around. She looked about the same age as Piper, with sandy blond hair pulled back with a headband, and bright blue eyes. At the sight of the two intruders, she shrieked, dropped her electronic tablet, and raised her hands in the air

  “Wh—what’s going on? Who are you?”

  “Who are you?” Piper asked.

  “Janis! Janis Hollister. I’m a nurse!”

  “And what is your job here, Janis Hollister?” Piper asked skeptically.

  “I take care of the patients,” she said, hands still in the air. “Mostly the woman, but the boys also.”

  “Boys?”

  “Yes, the three boys. The two upstairs, and this one.”

  She motioned toward two glass cages off to one side. They hadn’t been visible from the doorway, so Piper hadn’t noticed them yet. One was empty.

  In the other was Pol. Motionless.

  Bandit’s sword was instantly at the nurse’s throat. “What have you done to him?” he demanded.

  “No, no, please! Please!” she cried.

  “Stop!” Piper yelled at Bandit.

  He narrowed his eyes, but stepped back.

  Piper tried to keep her voice calm as she spoke to the nurse. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He’s sedated, that’s all,” Janis said. “That room is being pumped with oxygen and anesthetic gas. Enough to knock out a grizzly bear. It’s the only way to keep him asleep.” She let her arms fall to her sides.

  “Turn it off,” Bandit said coldly. “And open the door.”

  Janis looked to Piper, who nodded. She then stumbled to the control panel and started hitting buttons. Somewhere a fan came on.

  “Who are the other boys?” Piper asked. “You said there are two more upstairs?”

  “I don’t know anything about them. They’ve been asleep the whole time I’ve been here.”

  “And how long has that been?”

  “Almost a year. They are… unusual. Look, I don’t ask questions. I only have a few more weeks left, then I’m out of this crazy place. They pay me a lot, and the job is easy, but I’m leaving when my contract is up.”

  The fan shut off, and the door to Pol’s cage opened. Bandit was already moving toward him when Piper’s commlink came alive.

  “Piper? Hey babe, you there?”

  Piper stared at her wrist in wide-eyed disbelief. She felt light-headed, and her knees started to buckle. Bandit caught her before she could fall. He sat her gently on the floor before going to help Pol.

  “Hey baby, you listening?”

  She shook her head.“Andy?” she whispered.

  “Hey, beautiful! Where are you?”

  “You’re alive?”

  “Of course I’m alive! I told you I would see you in a minute!”

  “But—I saw the Loon explode…”

  “Oh, yeah, we lost the Loon. Sorry, babe. I know you loved her, but we’ve got a new ride now!”

  Piper was laughing and crying now. “You’re alive! You really are alive!”

  “Yeah, we’re here at the building, in the hangar, and there’s a Super-Bee out here! It’s like the Bee I used to fly in the navy. I’m taking it. Needs a paint job though.”

  “You’re at the hangar?”

  “Yep, where are you?”

  “In the building!”

  “Great! Let’s go!”

  “Wait,” she said, wiping her eyes. “There have been some developments…”

  “What’s happened?”

  “I’ll tell you in a bit. Just get your Bee ready.”

  “Super-Bee,” Andy corrected her.

  “Right, Super-Bee. Just get it ready to go and we’ll be up in a minute.”

  “Roger that, gorgeous! Love you!”

  “I love you too, Andy.”

  A wave of relief and happiness swept over Piper. She felt like a new woman as she watched Bandit help the groggy boy out of his cell.

  Then she turned to the nurse. “Take us to the other boys,” she said.

  ***

  As Hoff walked Rosie and Doc to the elevator, he explained his undertaking to his niece.

  “You see, Roswitha, the work being completed at this laboratory is part of a global initiative. Braxton is the major UNA company involved, but there are others, as well as companies in China.”

  “Initiative to do what?” she asked.

  “To leave the planet.”

  “What?”

  “To colonize Mars, my dear.” Hoff smiled as they entered the elevator. “This planet is rapidly dying. I am afraid the clock has almost run out for Earth. If humans want to survive, the only solution is to settle other planets. And for that to happen, there are literally hundreds of different tasks that need to be completed. This is just one small component.”

  “So what do you need Pol for?” she asked.

  “Pol?”

  “The boy.”

  “Oh, you call him Pol?”

  “His cell was labeled PO-1, it looked like P-O-L.”

  Hoff chuckled. “I see. PO was for Primary Object, since he was the focus of the experiment, and yes, his genetic code is a key for future space travel. As you know, the human body is a fragile machine, and it was my duty to prepare it for the next phase of history. My objective was to create an astronaut who could withstand the high levels of radiation without any damaging effects, and who would never require medical attention. All of those medications and supplies take up a lot of room, and payload capacity is very limited. Plus, even a minor injury can prove fatal if appropriate care is not readily available. Sometimes I wonder how the human race has survived as long as it has!”

  “So—no medicine, no doctors…” Rosie said.

  “That’s right. No need for medical facilities whatsoever. Can you imagine trying to run a fully equipped and staffed hospital in space? Of course not! It’s not feasible at this stage.”

  “What about robots?” Doc asked.

  “Good question, Ocho,” said Hoff happily. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t use robotic machines for everything. They just aren’t capable enough yet, although another company is making great strides in that area. However, we did test several methods of incorporating cybernetic material into human hosts, such as artificial limbs, eyes, and so on. We’ve even tried using nanites to repair and heal human injuries—and we were relatively successful. But machin
es, no matter how advanced, still need repairs or replacement over time. The preferred solution—the ultimate solution—is to have a human who simply never needs medical care.”

  “That’s why you created Pol,” Rosie said.

  “His healing ability is remarkable, is it not?”

  “It is.”

  “But his growth rate is too slow. I hadn’t counted on that. Did you know his gestation period was almost three years?”

  “What?” Doc asked, incredulous.

  “Yes, three years! That’s why I had to sedate Katherine and keep her here in secret.”

  “You what?”

  “When she reached nine months, I brought her here, sedated her, then announced that she and the child died during childbirth. It was the only way to complete the experiment.” The elevator doors opened onto a laboratory, and Hoff started across the room toward two glass cubicles. “Two years after coming here, the child was delivered by Caesarean section.”

  “But why keep her here after that?” Doc asked. “And sedated? Has she been asleep this whole time?”

  “Yes, I had to use her for my other project. A side project I decided to pursue on my own, after the success—and shortcomings—of the first child.”

  “Other project?” Rosie asked.

  “These,” Hoff said proudly, motioning toward the glass cages.

  Two limp forms lay motionless in the little cubicles, both small boys, one dark gray, the other bright green. Both were attached to monitors and tubing.

  “You see,” said Hoff, “the first boy had some serious limitations. He could be drowned, and he could be starved. His pale pigmentation was also an issue. I tried to correct those problems with these two. I overcompensated on the pigmentation with the next child, which is why his skin is so dark. But he cannot be drowned—he has the ability to breathe underwater. Certain areas of his skin—the very vascular areas, such as his face and head—can absorb oxygen from water. I also reactivated some latent genes to allow for the preauricular fistulas to become functional gills again, to a limited degree. So I solved two of the problems. Then, once I had figured out how to reliably alter the pigmentation, I added genes for chlorophyll production, to solve the starvation issue. That’s why the third child is green.”

  Rosie and Doc looked at each other, then back to the cells.

  “How many…?” Rosie said.

  “Just the three. Which is probably a good thing. The dark one became a little rambunctious a little over a year ago. He managed to almost completely destroy all but the lowest level of this place. That’s why I transferred the first boy to Denver. I didn’t have enough room for all three here while those levels were being rebuilt, and I figured it would be less risky to move only one child. That’s when you found him—and stole him.”

  Rosie started to respond, but Hoff waved her off. “No matter. We’ve got him back now. Sadly, it looks as though I will have to stop at three. You see, a few years ago, I developed cancer. I treated myself with the healing serum, and my sperm no longer accepts alterations, so I can’t continue my experiments with Kat.”

  “The healing serum?” Rosie asked.

  “Ah, yes. It’s for the Mars program. I used the first boy’s DNA to create it, but it’s very difficult to manipulate, and it rejects most alterations. It has been a very long road. Many, many years of testing, with numerous failures.”

  “How does it work?”

  Hoff smiled. “Roswitha, I am so happy you are here! So happy to share all of this with you!” He put a hand on her shoulder. “The process is complicated and quite time-consuming, but generally speaking, I added and altered many, many genes. For example, LRP5, to increase bone strength, to compensate for the bone loss in low gravity environments.”

  Rosie nodded in understanding.

  “I also added genes to allow for in vivo production of all amino acids, to make dietary considerations easier for the long voyage.”

  “Very insightful,” Rosie said.

  Hoff smiled. “Another one of the key factors was being able to regenerate stem cells, especially bone marrow, to essentially refurbish the blood supply. And manipulating the epigenetics to boost production of certain peptides already present was also essential.”

  “Like what?”

  “Sirtuins, for instance, but also other proteins, such as those that allow for apoptosis of senescent cells. The true key is to be able to quickly remove cells that have damage to their DNA, so they don’t start a chain reaction of deterioration.”

  Rosie nodded thoughtfully.

  “Of course, it was also critical to boost production of co-enzymes that aid in DNA repair and telomere maintenance.”

  “Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide?” Rosie asked.

  Hoff raised his fists to his chest in joy. “Yes, Roswitha! Oh, how I wish you were here working with me! That is only one of the many factors, but it is a very important one!”

  “And you used the serum on yourself?”

  “Yes, after I thought it was perfected. If I hadn’t taken the serum, the cancer would have killed me by now, so I really had no choice—but unfortunately, after I had taken it, I discovered it was not truly ready. You see, the serum only keeps you at the state of health you are in when you take it. Therefore, I still have cancer—it just does not progress. I’m lucky I discovered it before I had any symptoms. It’s not a terrible complication, as long as the astronauts and early settlers are in excellent health before taking the serum. I was hoping to create a product that could restore health, but being able to maintain it is quite an achievement. Don’t you agree?”

  “I do! It’s quite amazing!” Rosie gushed.

  Hoff smiled. “Yes, it is! However, the serum has another issue, which is much more severe. There is a limit to the amount of healing it can provide. Once a person’s injuries reach a certain threshold, the body resorts to its most basic form of survival, by forming a tumor.”

  “It starts forming cancer?”

  “Yes. The damaged tissue instantly starts creating tumor cells, to try to survive the injury.”

  Doc furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

  Hoff explained as if speaking to a child. “You see, Ocho, some types of cancer are simply the body trying to survive. When the cells have been traumatized by a repeated stimulus, either physical or chemical, they transform into a more primitive state. These undifferentiated cells grow rapidly, and they are extremely hard to kill, because they are so… unevolved. But they are still recognized by the body, which is why some cancer is so hard to treat.

  “We have been able to overcome this in the medical field, for many types of cancer, by using genetic-specific immunotherapy. Unfortunately, attempts to apply those techniques to the serum subjects have been unsuccessful.”

  “Are you’re saying this serum you made causes cancer?” Doc asked.

  “In a manner of speaking. Once the healing threshold is met, the host instantly transforms into a tumor.”

  “The host? You mean the injury.”

  “Sadly, no. The entire host transforms into a tumor. I first discovered the flaw early in the experiment. At first, the hosts formed localized tumors from major injuries. They still survived, but the formation of the neoplasm caused major disfigurement. Additionally, they mentally regressed to a more primal state.”

  “What hosts are you talking about?” Doc asked.

  “Oh, right. I haven’t told you. We used prisoners from the detention camp. That’s why we set up the lab here in the first place. The Mexican War was an excellent source of volunteers. We saved a few of our own wounded as well.”

  “So the demons…”

  “The demons!” said Hoff, clapping his hands together and smiling. “I love the stories about the Dreaded Demons of North Appalachia! In truth, they are test subjects we keep on the island. We track them and follow their activities. They’ve all had major injuries, which caused the localized tumors and the psychological derangement. And if they suffer even more injury
, past the final threshold, the full transformation occurs. The tumor will quickly take over their entire body.”

  “And you knew all this when you took the serum?” Doc was aghast.

  “Yes and no. I knew about it, but I thought I had corrected it. I was able to keep major injuries from causing localized tumor formation, and the mental regression was easily avoided after that. Unfortunately, only after I had used the serum myself did we realize that the total transformation threshold was still present.”

  “What is that threshold?”

  “Different for every subject, I am afraid. And any injury can push the host past the threshold. If one is very close to crossing it, even a stubbed toe could trigger the transformation. It’s a major flaw, and one that I’ve been trying to correct for many years. It’s why I rarely leave this place, or expose myself to any unnecessary risks.”

  Rosie looked at the motionless forms in the cells. “Do these boys have that threshold?”

  “Not that I’ve been able to discover. And I have certainly tried.”

  “Yes, we heard,” Doc said coldly.

  Hoff eyed his brother-in-law. “I’m sure you have, Ocho. You must think horribly of me. I must admit, I struggle when working with the boys. They are my children, after all.” He paused. “But you must understand that I am trying to save our entire species. If we stay on Earth, our fate is sealed—surely you can see that! We have to be able to survive beyond this planet, and sacrificing a few small boys has to be worth it!” To Doc’s surprise, tears formed in Hoff’s eyes. “Even the sacrifice of my own children,” he said quietly.

  Just then the door to the room opened and Bandit, Piper, Pol, and a nurse stepped through. Without hesitation, Bandit flung a knife at Hoff. It struck the scientist in the chest, and he fell to the ground.

  ***

  “This thing is amazing,” said Andy, gazing at the instrument panel.