Paul stopped at the top of the ridge and turned to Kailynn.
“I want to show you something.”
Kailynn stepped up beside him and glanced out over the vast area in front of them.
The valley beyond was filled with dilapidated and collapsed buildings. Most of the metal structure still stood, the outer walls outlining the building that had once been there, but the roofs were caved in, the floors sunken in the center, leaving only a destroyed carcass. There were mangled buildings, where the metal of the framework was sharply bent and tangled, protruding from the rubble with malicious appearance, covered in rust.
“Saera,” Paul whispered. “At one point, this is where the planet harvested most of its food. Losing it caused significant damage to all of Tiao.”
Kailynn stared at the ruins, thinking over the story of Saera’s destruction.
“Do you know why it’s so difficult to produce our food on this planet?” Paul asked. “There is plenty of food on the planet as it is. Indigenous species would eat the plants and animals here, but humans cannot. Even if we were to, we would starve or poison ourselves, because we were not built to consume them. Our bodies are meant for our origins on Earth. Therefore, we had to produce food from Earth here. But, had we forced people to eat the indigenous plants and animals here, our species would have built up a body that would handle that food. And we would not be struggling to feed the people of this system.”
Paul glanced at Kailynn.
“Staying the same is never an option,” he murmured. “Just as a person has to change to overcome trials in life, a city, a society, a species, they all must change as well, because that is what nature demands.” Paul chuckled. “I used to say this jokingly, but, the truth is, Isa is a force of nature. She had to change to overcome the hardships in her life, and she is changing things for everyone so that this planet and its people may grow stronger. While it’s terrifying to stand next to that kind of power, and think of yourself as powerless, it is better to be amazed by that strength, and revel in it. Because you are also capable of great change. Just think of the way you clawed your way out of Trid, the way you started reading and writing, the way you came to Isa’s aid and helped her strengthen herself. You are just as powerful as Isa. You are anything but insignificant. You gave Isa back to us, and to the planet.”
Kailynn could only stare at Paul, letting the words move around her skull slowly.
Paul looked over the ruins and smiled.
“Change can look devastating,” he agreed, nodding to the city. “But I see a lot of flowers growing there that would have never grown had a city been there.”
Paul walked back down the path, stopping a little further down to wait for Kailynn, who continued to look out over the small splashes of color she had not seen before among the grey concrete and rusted metal rubble.
Tensions were very high later that day.
Paul and Dr. Busen went to all the monitors in the improvised surgical area, turning them on and preparing the instruments they would need for the surgery. Isa sat against the base of the processor, watching from afar. Kailynn, who had been playing with Rio and Tiana to take her mind off the impending surgery, finally walked to Isa and sat with her. The Golden Elite’s eyes did not move from the doctors, so Kailynn wrapped her arm around Isa’s and rested her head on the Elite’s shoulder.
The waiting continued.
Remus and several of the other Elites were setting up the connections between the processor and another machine that Maki had tried to complete on his own to destroy Venus’ codes. The Elites of the Syndicate had continued Maki’s research and created a computer that would read the codes.
Then, they had built a system that contained the virus to destroy the codes, setting it separate from the other machine and the processor. It was a simple-looking machine with a stand and a handle that would activate the virus and send it to the two processors.
Setting up the three machines was enough to distract them from what was about to happen.
Rayal and Tarah continued to take shifts monitoring the outer areas of the processor’s location to be sure they had not been found by Officials. However, they were more interested in checking in with everyone in the cavern.
Finally, Dr. Busen stepped away from the surgery area. He motioned for Paul to follow him and the two left the cavern, everyone watching them.
When the door closed, Kailynn glanced at Isa.
Isa smiled weakly and stroked her cheek before leaning forward and brushing their lips together.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Kailynn breathed, tears threatening to overtake her, making her voice crack.
The Elites stepped away from their tasks and waited, understanding that Dr. Busen was ready to perform the surgery.
“How much more is left?” Isa asked, looking at Remus.
“Just connecting the final ports to the processor.”
“Better do those now,” Isa said with a nod.
Remus turned back to the other Elites and they began moving around the processor, plugging in different wires.
Kailynn could hardly breathe.
When the final setup was complete, everyone waited for the doctors to return.
When Dr. Busen walked back in, everyone tensed. Paul and Dr. Busen walked to Isa and crouched in front of her.
“We’re ready, Isa,” Dr. Busen whispered.
“Okay,” the Elite said, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out.
Dr. Busen swallowed hard and looked at the floor.
“Do you want me to tell you what I will be doing?”
She shook her head quickly.
“Tell me afterward.”
He chuckled and nodded. “Alright. Let’s start, then.”
Dr. Busen helped Isa to her feet, and Paul helped Kailynn. Kailynn quickly grabbed Isa’s arm and pulled her into a tight hug, the tears falling down her face. She whispered to the Elite that she loved her once again and Isa repeated the sentence.
Then, Isa walked with Dr. Busen to the surgery table.
“Chronus, Anders, Hana,” Paul called, motioning them over. “Does someone want to tell Rayal and Tarah?”
Tia left the cavern to get the two caretakers as Kailynn watched the three Elites approach the surgery area, preparing to act as the nurses assisting Dr. Busen and Dr. Arre.
Remus walked to Kailynn and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, her hand over her nose and mouth as she fought to contain her tears. Before she thought better of it, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug, closing his eyes.
They both remained silent.
Isa removed her shirt and bra and reclined on the table as everyone who would be involved with the surgery washed their hands and covered their clothes. Isa closed her eyes and took several deep, measured breaths.
Dr. Busen started the IV on her and then hooked up her other arm on fluids. He covered her body with a blanket and then the hole in the blanket with another sheet before continuing to attach Isa to different monitors.
Tarah and Rayal walked in, both walking up to Isa and standing in her line of vision as the final preparations were made.
By the time Dr. Busen announced that he would be putting her under to start the procedure, everyone had gathered around the area, watching nervously. Isa turned her head and looked around the cavern, her eyes finally meeting Kailynn’s.
The two remained in an eye-lock before Isa’s eyes slowly slipped shut, and all the beeping of the monitors evened to a constant, rhythmic sound.
Dr. Busen turned around and looked at the group that had gathered.
“My apologies,” he said slowly, “but please give me a little space. This is nerve-wracking enough.”
The group not participating in the surgery backed away, going to the opposite side of the cavern. Remus guided Kailynn away, sitting next to her as Rayal and Tarah sat on her other side. They did not bother to watch for Officials finding
them. At that point, they could not bear to leave the room, knowing Isa was undergoing surgery.
Kailynn refused to watch the figures on the other side of the cavern. Her eyes were, instead, focused on the machines hooked up to the processor. It was unbearably hot in the cavern, and she was sweating profusely, beads of sweat rolling into her eyes, which she furiously wiped away, refusing to move more.
Some Elites would get up at various times to pace, or walk around processor to check the connections. Even though they had tested their connections on a processor that had been put out of commission, they had not tried shutting it down. Therefore, they did not know for sure that the virus would work.
They figured that, if Isa could come out of the surgery, and the virus did not work, they would find another way to shut down Venus with the help of the Golden Elite.
Freeing Isa from Venus’ grasp was the highest priority.
Even though only two hours had passed, it felt like days for all those watching.
Two hours in, Chronus called Remus over to look at the protective casing they were slowly removing, just to be sure they were removing it correctly and that they would not damage Isa’s heart or trigger the processor.
Remus quickly returned to the group when he had finished giving his advice.
“How does she look?” Kailynn demanded.
“As you would expect,” Remus said slowly, sitting against the wall once more and loosening the fastenings on his uniform, also sweating. “They’re half-way through with the casing. This last panel should reveal the processor and they’ll finally be able to see what they’re dealing with.”
“They don’t know for sure?” Kailynn choked.
“No,” Remus said, shaking his head. “But have faith in them. Dr. Busen is the best.”
Kailynn closed her eyes, unable to look in the direction of the surgery.
Another hour later, after some worried conversations between the two doctors, Dr. Busen told Dr. Arre to prepare for a heart reconstruction. The words caused Kailynn to physically feel pain in her chest. She folded her legs and rested her forehead on her knees, trying to breathe around the fear in her chest and the heat of the cavern.
“It’s alright,” Remus assured. “Dr. Busen has done this before.”
“On a heart?” Kailynn snapped.
“Not on Isa’s but a heart reconstruction is not uncommon,” Remus told her. “They already have one ready for her. They began growing it a week ago.”
“Growing it?”
“Isa’s entire genetic map is documented. She had her tongue and eye regrown for reconstruction when she had the accident,” Remus said. “The heart and the reconstruction are not the worry. The concern lies entirely with the processor.”
Kailynn felt as though she was about to be sick.
Tarah clung nervously to Rayal, who was also pale and shaking. Everyone was extremely nervous.
With everything prepared for a quick reconstruction, Dr. Busen and Dr. Arre continued working diligently.
At the beginning of the fifth hour, panic set in on the other side of the cavern.
The monitors began sounding alarms and the Elites all jumped, terror bolting through them.
“I clipped it,” Dr. Busen hissed.
Kailynn was on her feet, ready to dart forward, but Remus leapt up and grabbed her, getting in front of her and forcing her back.
“Get out of my way!” Kailynn barked.
“Kailynn, keep it down,” Remus snapped. “Let him concentrate.”
“She’s dying!”
Remus wrapped his arms around Kailynn, forcing her to muffle her cries into his uniform, trying to weakly fight him to get to the surgery area, where the monitors continued to beep their warnings. Dr. Busen snapped something at Paul and then told the other Elites to get out of the way. Kailynn did not know what was going on, but she could feel the tension in Remus’ body and she knew that everyone had their eyes on Dr. Busen.
After what felt like an eternity listening to the shrill beeping, the warnings stopped and the simple, rhythmic beeping stumbled into a steady beat.
Dr. Busen slowly removed his hand from Isa’s chest, shaking.
“Michael, Michael, breathe,” Paul said. “Just breathe for a moment.”
There was stillness and silence as Dr. Busen took a few moments to collect himself.
When Remus felt Kailynn relax, lulled into a calmer state by the rhythmic beeping of the machines, the Silver Elite released her and guided her back to the spot where they had been sitting.
Two hours later, Chronus called Remus over once more, his voice a little weaker.
Kailynn finally turned her eyes to the surgery area, and saw Chronus holding a bloodied, metal contraption that had everyone standing, their eyes wide.
The former Significant watched, her body locked, as the Silver Elite carefully took the contraption.
It was shaped to be cased around a heart, small needles poking out in different areas to touch the muscle. It was black in color with ridges of gold that made up the pathways of the processor.
The Silver Elite brought it over to everyone else. While the Elites seemed fascinated by the machine itself, Kailynn was focused entirely on the blood that coated it.
“Where did it get its power?” Tia whispered.
“Isa’s heart powered it. It’s in safe mode,” Remus murmured. “We should set it on a circuit before Venus realizes it’s in danger.”
He walked over to the secondary machine they had set up and two Elites helped to attach the processor to a live circuit to get it out of safe mode and prepare it for shut down.
Kailynn walked around them slowly, approaching the surgery area.
When Anders saw her, he walked over to her, keeping his voice down.
“The processor is out,” he assured. “Dr. Busen is just finishing up patching the areas of her heart.”
“Then…she’s going to be alright?” Kailynn asked, her voice breaking.
“We won’t know for sure until she wakes up,” he admitted. “We don’t entirely know what effect the processor has on her heart and how it will work without the processor. Dr. Busen is doing everything he can.”
Kailynn nodded tightly, crossing her arms over her chest and taking a deep breath.
She did not move for the final hour as Dr. Busen finished the surgery and closed Isa’s chest once more.
Kailynn had to contend to watching the monitors prove that Isa was alive.
Finally, Dr. Busen backed away from the surgery area, his hands and protective clothing stained with blood and his face pale and covered in sweat.
Everyone surged forward.
“I’m going to let everything stabilize,” he said quietly, removing his gloves, his hands shaking. “I’m going to leave her sedated for another hour and see what the monitors say. If everything looks good, we’ll stop the drugs and see…”
He did not finish the sentence, but they all knew that there was still some uncertainty.
Dr. Busen and Paul began cleaning the surgery area, continuously looking at the monitors and at Isa. The others did not approach until the doctors were finished cleaning and stood by the machines, watching the lines and numbers move up and down.
Kailynn finally walked up to Isa and looked over the Elite’s pale face, terrified that Isa would die the moment they stopped the sedation.
She rested a hand on Isa’s hair and let the tears blur her vision.
The hour wait was agonizing, but when it was over, everyone wished they had more time to prepare.
Dr. Busen closed the drip, carefully removing the needle from Isa’s arm, though he left her on the fluid monitor.
Then, everyone turned their eyes to the other monitors, waiting, scarcely breathing.
Everything remained stable and normal.
But still, everyone held their breaths, watching the lines and numbers worriedly.
Dr. Busen turned away from the monitors and ran a hand over his face. Paul went up to him and
took his shoulders.
“It will be alright,” he whispered. “She did not peak, nor drop. She’s still stable.”
“She might be in a coma,” Dr. Busen whispered. “She might not wake up on her own.”
“Michael,” Paul said strongly, tightening his fingers on the other doctor’s shoulders, “look at me.” The older doctor looked up, his face creased with anxiety. “This stubborn Elite pulled through a skull reconstruction. This is not going to be the thing that takes her down.”
Dr. Busen swallowed hard and closed his eyes, nodding.
Paul pulled Dr. Busen closer and hugged him tightly.
Kailynn watched the time pass on the clock of one of the monitors, one hand still resting on Isa’s head. Thirty-three minutes and twenty-seven seconds passed before the monitors changed their tones.
Kailynn looked around quickly as everyone jumped, turning their eyes to Isa.
The Golden Elite slowly blinked her eyes open, opening her mouth to take a pained breath. Kailynn gasped and the tears tumbled down her face as she covered her mouth.
Isa groaned and closed her eyes tightly.
“It’s…fucking hot in here…”
Everyone in the cavern let out a relieved laugh, a few of them shaking, barely able to keep their legs from giving out on them. Dr. Busen did collapse to his knees, letting out a long breath as Paul went to a crouch next to him and hugged him tightly once more.
Kailynn pressed a kiss to Isa’s lips, thrilled to feel that they were warm.
“You have the power to change that,” Remus said, walking up to Isa’s other side and taking her hand. The Elite looked at the Silver Elite and a small, tired smile came to her lips.
“Then…”
Remus’ hand tightened on Isa’s.
“He got it out,” he said with a nod. “You’re free of her.”
Isa’s smile widened.
“…and you were all so worried…”
Kailynn could not help but laugh, her entire body shaking as she ran her hand several times over Isa’s hair.
“The amount of stress I deal with being around you is going to take years of my life,” she hiccupped with a teasing smile.
“Mine, too,” Dr. Busen groaned, approaching the Golden Elite.
The Significant Page 68