by Utley, Todd
“I’m sorry Bobby, this food is a little plain, but it’s specially formulated for your first meal. I’m going to turn on the TV and start an educational video that will explain a few things about your new body, okay?” Bobby was a little surprised at this but nodded in agreement, without looking up from the tray. He was poking at the glob of pinkish goop on the plate in front of him. It smelled good, kind of fruity, but it didn’t look very good.
“What’s in this?” He asked.
“It’s an engineered super food made out of several genetically altered fruits and vegetables. It’s rich in vitamins, and minerals, and there’s also a few super proteins in there to help build the muscles up fast so you can go home sooner.”
It contained several more powerful ingredients but it was much too complex to elaborate on with every patient. Besides the Lifecenter Administration frowned on full disclosure and discouraged the staff from expounding upon the details.
As the video began to play on the TV, Bobby slowly but surely began forcing down his first meal. The whole time all he could think about was a big plate of pancakes with some bacon on the side and a big glass of OJ. The video, while pretty poorly made, was still fairly informative. He had remembered very little about the LifeTech system from health class and now was listening intently as this whole cloning thing had just become very personal. Like most teens his age he had thought it wouldn’t be a concern until he was very old. He learned that the Lifecorder contained two nuclium power cells good for ten years each. One for the main power source and the second for a backup in case the first should fail. It was quite amazing technology and the video went into a much more detail explaining how it all worked.
As a bonus, Scientist also discovered the soul of a person leaving their body upon death. They had accomplished this ground breaking discovery a few years before the pandemic broke out and their continued curiosity and research lead to the development of the Lifecorder which actually only recorded a person’s memories and not the soul at all. They didn’t know exactly how the soul worked but it did exist and as a result they had publicly acknowledged God or a higher Power out there that must be instrumental in creating Life and the Soul.
Some people called it the Spirit but Grandpa called those people “tree huggers” which Bobby didn’t really get. He remembered the days that this happened very well because Grandpa was in a great mood for weeks after, walking around with a little more zest in his step than usual. He would smile and say, “Those clowns finally had to admit we didn’t come from a monkey.”
Scientists had discovered, that cloning a person after the soul departed, didn’t really yield a whole person but instead more like a crazy person with little or no personality. Even though early attempts yielded a person that looked like the original and even knew their friends, and relatives, and every detail of their life, they seemed to be without any personality and no conscience whatsoever.
Several earlier experiments yielded individuals that had to be euthanized due to their violent and radical behavior. They simply had NO ethics whatsoever, and would sometimes kill their pets for an accident or murder their friends and family over losing at a game. It wasn’t until they discovered that the soul leaves the body after about one hour following death that they perfected the system. Restoration performed within that hour was always successful while those performed after were not.
They discovered, a cell sample kept fresh and suspended in a special pure solution that sustained the life of the cell, would cause the process to work. Even with that, the soul was still leaving the body eventually, but it was delayed. It somehow knew that the person was not completely dead.
Science couldn’t answer all of the questions surrounding this technology yet, but they had made the system work for now. Of course they still refused to call it a soul. They called it P-Source2 or Personal Source Energy Squared instead. In spite of their play on words, everyone knew that this was just science speak for soul.
Some Restorations had failed, but they were conducted either by other companies that had since gone out of business, or in some cases they had attempted the procedure after the one hour cut off time. The soul seemed to have left and didn’t return leaving the clone incomplete and out of its mind, more like a robot or animal than a person. In the end, the recommended longest time in between death and restoration remained at one hour. If they did attempt it after an hour the family members had to sign an “after 60 minute waiver” that allowed doctors to keep the restored individual for up to 90 days after the procedure for observation and possible euthanizing should any problem arise.
Bobby still didn’t understand exactly how it all worked even after watching the video twice, but he knew enough to believe he would be all right. After all, he was restored in 28 minutes, much faster than the 60 minute cut off point. He also had two friends at school that said their grandparents had been restored and they seemed perfectly fine. Of course when a person was planning the Restoration there was no emergency. They simply made an appointment for the procedure and then checked in at one of the Restoration centers, sometimes the hospital if they were deathly ill.
They had to bring their Lifecorder in for upload into the new body. They were given a pill causing them to fall into a deep sleep like being in a coma. While they were out the technicians would bring in the clone and then upload the data. After waking you up, they ran a few simple neurological tests to make sure everything was normal. If you passed, they would release you to a room for observation and visitation. If everything was successful, then after two days you went home, and the old body was destroyed after 90 days.
They always waited two days just in case something went wrong with the clone. If there was a problem, they could reawaken your original for a while, giving them some time to grow another clone and try again, but that very rarely happened. In some case’s people were so close to death when they decided to be cloned that they would have to freeze them long enough to grow a clone. Once complete they could thaw them out and make the switch. It had to work on the first attempt because they found out how to freeze a person and thaw them out successfully but no one had lived more than three days after being thawed.
The one thing that bothered Bobby the most was not knowing anyone his age that had gone through this and he wondered if his friends would treat him the same way. He also wondered if he could still play basketball as good as he did before. Suddenly he began to feel ill. He knew he was going to be sick. He tried to get to the bathroom but his legs were so weak, he only made it halfway and had to go for the trash can. A nurse in the next room heard him and came to his aid very quickly helping him back into bed.
“Didn’t anyone tell you? You can’t walk too well just yet, you have to go to therapy.” Reflecting on the video, Bobby did remember a part about muscle atrophy but didn’t completely understand it. “Don’t worry everyone gets nauseous the first couple of times they eat. You only have to eat that stuff today and then tomorrow you get some regular food.”
“Wow, that’s a relief, that pink goop tasted even worse coming back up!”
Back at the house, Dodge and Linsey Kerrington were discussing how they might approach Grandpa Kerrington about Restoration. He had not been in a very talkative mood the night before as he was leaving the hospital. Dodge hoped that his Father would ask them to take him up to see Bobby, but they had not heard from him at all since the night before, and could only assume that he was avoiding going up to see Bobby due to his feelings about cloning.
Linsey had become very close to Dodge’s parents in recent years in the absence of her own parents who had both passed away several years before the Restoration process was feasible.
It was really hard on her and Dodge both when Dodge’s mother, Elizabeth, had passed away, and now they were both faced with losing his father too.
Linsey was hopeful that they could convince him to do it for them and for the children, if not for himself. Alan had always had a soft spot for Linsey and would kid Dodge.
; “Boy you lucked out when you got this one you big clod! If it weren’t for her, you’d be lost.”
Now Linsey was planning to turn on the charm the best she could to persuade Alan to go through with the process. What they didn’t know, and what they would be surprised to discover, was that grandpa was way ahead of them and was already on his way to the hospital to see Bobby.
He had been up most of the night with insomnia. He couldn’t quit thinking about Bobby. He wanted to know if it was really him or if Bobby would be different, and he had to see this for himself, he couldn’t wait any longer.
He had lost Elizabeth to the cancer and now he resented the fact that science came through with a way to live forever when it was too late for her, go figure. Out of his resentment he had turned his back on the idea that this could be real, or that God had blessed humanity with the ability to discover such a thing. “If God did this, then why? And why now?”
Was it just the natural course of things or were we humans playing God? He didn’t know, but he knew he was going to find out. He and Bobby were very close and he believed that if he spent some time with him alone and talked with him one on one, he was sure he could get the answer.
If Bobby wasn’t Bobby then he knew he didn’t want to go on living any longer and would just rather go on to heaven to be with Elizabeth. If Bobby was all there and normal, then he might consider going through with the Restoration. He loved him very much and wanted to see him grow up and he wanted to spend time with him but not some empty shell. Alan Kerrington arrived at the hospital at 7:45 that morning and by 8:20 he had his answer. He walked into Bobby’s room and was greeted by Bobby in the usual manner. Bobby was already a tall sturdy young man at age sixteen. He had brownish blonde hair and blue eyes. He actually carried a great resemblance to Alan in his younger days. He had his Mother’s smile but other than that he was nearly a dead ringer for a sixteen-year-old Alan.
“Gramps!” Bobby shouted, when he saw Alan coming in. “I’m so glad you came, I’m really getting bored with this place. How about we get outta here and go shoot some hoops?” Alan could hardly believe his ears; it was Bobby all right. Bobby asked if he would show him that trick hook shot again just as soon as he could get home.
Bobby didn’t shut up for at least five minutes. When he finally did, he looked at his grandpa who was sitting there smiling at him speechless.
“What? What is it? Am I talking too much?” Grandpa Kerrington looked at him for a second.
“You know I can’t believe I am saying this Bobby but I’m going to do it.”
“You mean Restoration?”
“Yes! I’m gonna do it.”
Then Bobby remembered.
“But Gramps, you took your Lifecorder all apart?”
“Don’t worry young man that wasn’t mine, it belonged to a friend of mine that passed recently. I got a call from his daughter after he died. She wanted me to go get some of his things because he told her that he wanted me to have anything in his place that I might want.”
“The funny thing is the only thing I took was his Lifecorder. I just wanted to see what was in the darned thing. My friend had one for years but decided that he didn’t want to go on living and wanted to just pass away normally. Until yesterday, I thought that was what I wanted too. I was up all night and realized that I can go to heaven later and if it’s eternal like I really believe that it is, then my lovely Elizabeth, your Grandma, will still be there waiting for me when I get there. Right now I just want to stay here with you but I had to see for myself that it was really you Bobby. Now I know what I want and I’m gonna do it. I’m going to go through with Restoration.”
Bobby was so happy he couldn’t stop laughing and smiling. Just then Dodge and Linsey appeared in the door with a very surprised look on their faces. Dodge was a little concerned and came in quickly.
“Dad what are you doing here already?” Alan was already up with his arms open moving toward them.
“Come here you big clod! I’m gonna stick around for a few more decades and make you two youngsters stay in line.” He was already embracing his son and gesturing with one arm for Linsey to get in there for the group hug.
“Oh Dad! You made our day!” Said Linsey.
“You didn’t really think I’d leave a sweetheart like you to fend for yourself with this guy did ya?”
Everyone started laughing and joking and didn’t stop for a good while. The commotion caused two of the nurses to pop their heads in just to see what was going on and Alan noticed them.
“Hey ladies, I’m getting restored like some old rusty truck. You better watch out!”
The two nurses laughed while swishing their hands at him in dismissive gestures and shook their heads as they went on down the hall.
“Wow, Dad, didn’t know you had that in you!”
After everyone settled down a bit, Bobby filled them in on what to expect in the process with the pink goop. They all visited for an hour and then decided it best to leave so that Bobby could rest.
While Dodge took his Father across town to register for his procedure, Linsey had a very nice conversation with the nurse and then the doctor about what to expect when Bobby got home. The “Doc” took Bobby’s vitals and answered some questions that Bobby had about getting his strength back, gaining weight, and getting out of there.
On the ride across town Dodge and his father were having a serious conversation about how much time Alan had, and whether or not he had the time to get his clone matured to an appropriate age for him to make the switch.
“There’s no way I want to be a kid again,” Said Alan. I want to be at least 50 in my new body. It would be awkward if I were younger than my own son!”
Dodge chuckled as he imagined that situation and how comical and weird it would be.
“Okay Dad, let’s go see the staff at the Life Center and see what they have to say about your current condition and your potential second mid-life crisis.”
“Oh very funny Son, you’ll think mid-life crisis when I get in that new body, I’ll be able to whoop you again, young man!”
They both laughed, but beneath his laughter Dodge was a little bit concerned that his Father might have waited too long and didn’t have enough time left to get his clone matured for the procedure. He had noticed that his father coughed a lot of the time and had to excuse himself frequently because of his fits. He had not seen any real spark of life in him for a very long time until today at the hospital.
They arrived at the Life Center branch nearest to Alan’s house and signed in. In just five minutes they were called in for a consultation, and much to their surprise they were assured that they could mature Alan’s clone to the age of fifty in just eight weeks. Even if Alan’s condition were to worsen suddenly, they could go ahead and transfer the data from the Lifecorder at a moment’s notice and keep the clone in the process of accelerated aging until the process was complete.
The only thing Alan would miss would be the time he was under sedation while the clone completed the process which would be no different from taking a vacation and missing out on a few things happening back at home. They both learned something else that they didn’t know either. Even though a clone could be developed to an older age, the restored person always feels much better than they did at the same age before restoration and the logic was very simple. The new clone body had no wear and tear on it at all, no scars, no injuries, no bad food, no cigarettes, nothing bad that a normal fifty-year-old person might have.
This made Alan feel pretty good about what was happening. He had many health problems due to his hard work as a mason after he left the military. For many years he had worn out his body and now with the lung cancer he felt terrible. He knew it would be a relief to have a new body with no pain. Alan had an appointment the next day to bring in his Lifecorder for a check up to make sure everything was in order with it. Barring any problems, he would be given the green light to be restored.
Chapter 2 On the other side of town in ro
om 331, Bobby was forcing down his lunch, another delicious plate of pink goop, yum! He hated the way that it tasted but he knew he had to eat it to get stronger and get out of there. His friend Matt was coming up to see him so he wanted to get that stuff down before Matt and his mother got there. If he was going to get sick, he wanted to do it before he had visitors. He got it down all right but then he thought it was going to come right back up, so he got out of bed and started toward the bathroom that was just a few feet away. He made it, but by the time he got there the nausea feeling had subsided a bit, so he sat on the toilet looking at his feet trying to beat the urge.
He was amazed at how nice his toenails looked. He got some nail fungus while on a camping trip two years ago and was having trouble getting rid of it. Now he had brand-new feet and they looked really nice again like they did when he was younger. He was looking at them in amazement. “I wonder if my scar is gone?” When he was eight, he had his appendix removed and he had a big scar from the operation. He closed the bathroom door, stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of the door, and removed the thin hospital gown.
Just as he expected, no scar! Did this mean he had his appendix? “Well duh,” he laughed out loud at himself. Of course he had it, he had a whole new body! Man! What a mind job! He still couldn’t believe it. Hit by a car, killed dead, and now back again. The thought of it suddenly brought back the memory of the whole incident and this time it was very clear. His stomach started to churn again and he thought for sure he would lose it. He heard voices, it was Matt and his mother coming into the room.
“Hello, anyone home?”
“I’m in the bathroom, I’ll be right out.” He looked at himself in the mirror again. “I’m awfully thin.” He didn’t have the muscle mass that his old body had. The Government Issue clones didn’t get much nutrients while in suspension, just enough to be healthy. “Good way for fat people to get skinny.”
He sat back down on the toilet for a moment to rest his legs, he really wanted to make it to the bed without having to crawl or ask for help. He slunk the robe back on and stood up while quickly opening the door. He walked out to the bed as fast as possible in an effort to make it all the way there. He almost made it. Grabbing onto the chair, he managed a couple more steps, and got to the bed rail. Matt jumped up.