by Gary Moreau
While they carried out his instructions, Casey remembered a time long ago, when the capsules were all like glass and each contained a sleeping youth. He was stroking the smooth, cool surface of the capsule when Li touched his arm. He turned to her.
“Casey, we’ve done what you asked. What should we do next?”
“I’m going to enter this capsule and seal it. When I do, I want you to bring each patient before me for a visual inspection.” He turned from Li to focus on Glancy.
Frank doubt was present on Glancy’s face, but he indicated he understood. Casey stepped into the capsule and activated the closing mechanism. Simon Weiss was the first to be inspected, lying motionless on the stretcher.
When the capsule closed Simon’s appearance, as well as the appearance of the others, underwent a dramatic transformation. Simon’s left arm was bloated and purple. It was covered with festering sores and an angry redness spread over his shoulder and upper chest. His breathing was rapid and deep. He had little subcutaneous tissue. He appeared to be starving.
Glancy was standing behind the figure on the stretcher. His white jump suit was torn and ragged, with crusted mud covering the lower one-third of his pant legs. Meticulous Glancy looked filthy, his hair hung in stringy clumps and spots of dried mud speckled his face and arms.
Beside him stood Li Quon. Most of the front of her jump suit was torn away, leaving her small, peaked breasts and chest fully exposed. Her chest, breasts, neck and arms were covered with coin-like crusts. Her suit also was caked with mud and her hair and complexion were dull, reflecting malnutrition and the exposure to harsh weather, and her lips were pale, indicating a severe anemia.
When Casey turned his attention to Yamaguchi, he was pleased. Yamaguchi wore a crisp, new suit and was free of filth and mud. His appearance had changed very little, possibly slightly more gaunt, but otherwise he was the Yamaguchi Casey was used to seeing. He had obviously been able to take some information away with him from the time he spent in Casey’s cryo-capsule.
Casey motioned with his hands and Jon Brent was placed before him. He could detect no sign of injury. Other than for the ubiquitous malnutrition, he appeared to be simply asleep. The same was true for the other agri-tech, Ravi Ved.
Casey popped open the capsule and stepped back into the passage. As if by magic, everyone looked normal again. Even Simon’s gangrenous arm appeared normal. He turned to Glancy. “Padraig, I want you to put each of these men into the diagnostic tub. When I motion, move the focus. When I raise my hand increase the magnification. I want the screens on simple visual output. Do you understand?”
Glancy nodded that he did and Casey re-entered the capsule. When Simon was placed in the tub, it was as Casey knew it would be, septic shock from a devitalized and infected left arm, but when each of the other two were placed in the unit, the overall picture was one of metabolic balance. Casey opened the capsule a crack and instructed Glancy and Li to repeat the process, but to focus on various parts of the men’s bodies and at various depths. When his new instructions were carried out, Casey saw a fine patchiness. This fine, mottled appearance was present in Ravi Ved and Jon Brent’s legs and in their heads, even though they appeared to be sleeping.
Casey directed them to focus on Jon’s legs at increasing depth and magnification. At first it looked like light reflecting off a shimmering surface but, as the magnification was increased, the reason for the patchy appearance became apparent. There were multitudes of fine, silvery worms slithering slowly through the tissues. Despite Casey’s experiences and training, he found the sight of the worms overwhelmingly disgusting. He refocused the machine on Jon’s head and found the brain stem free of infestation. Either through instinct or outer control, the parasites were leaving the basic vegetative functions intact. Next he examined Jon’s cerebral areas. The sight was intensely revolting. More than half of Jon’s frontal lobes consisted of writhing worms. Ravi’s examination was much the same, with only slightly less central nervous system involvement.
He motioned for them to replace Simon in the tub and searched him as he had the other two men. Simon too had evidence of infestation, but it was limited to his left foot.
Casey cracked open the capsule and stepped into the passage. He was moist with perspiration and pasty white. He eased down onto the deck and searched for professional detachment.
Glancy and Li immediately stepped forward, alarmed by Casey’s ill appearance. Li took his pulse, temporarily forgetting her fear of the old guardian. After a couple of minutes, Casey’s color returned to a more acceptable shade of white and his lips became pink again. He raised his eyes to Glancy and Li, who were standing over him.
“Well?” Glancy asked.
Casey met their intense gazes with equanimity and then spoke. “I know the cause of their condition. Jon and Ravi have the same problem, but Simon’s is different.” Casey looked into Li’s black eyes, underlined with a light purple from stress and fatigue. “Li, if you are to save Simon, you must amputate his left arm and treat him vigorously with antimicrobials while maintaining cardiovascular support. He is in septic shock and will not live long without aggressive intervention. I would also strongly urge you to amputate his left foot.”
Li was stunned. “You are crazy! Why should I amputate perfectly healthy tissue? There’s nothing wrong with his arm or his leg. You don’t have to be a physician to tell that.” Hope was gone from her voice. “This is ridiculous. You are insane,” she said, purposefully malicious. “Do you hear me? Insane!”
“Li, did Simon hurt his left arm a few weeks ago? Did he stop using his arm?” Casey asked in an even voice.
“This is utter bullshit,” she scoffed and was about to turn away when an unexpected memory surfaced.
“Do you remember something?” Glancy asked.
After another moment, Li spoke. “Simon told me about a fall. He told me that at first the pain was terrible and he’d been afraid to look at his arm. He said it felt like it was broken, but hoped it wasn’t. Then the pain just melted away. He said at that point he knew his arm was going to be all right and, when he looked, it looked normal. He thought it was funny and had laughed at himself when he told me about it.” She shook her head. “No, not possible. Look at it, Casey. His arm is fine. Ridiculous!”
Casey answered her with a peaceful equanimity. “I’m not here to argue with you. You’ve asked for my help and I’ve given it. If you choose to ignore my advice, that is your affair entirely.”
Glancy spoke from Casey’s other side. “Now just a minute”
“No.” Casey replied. “I will now return to my room. Jon and Ravi have an extensive parasitic infestation. They are beyond salvage.”
Glancy ran his fingers through his red hair. Both Glancy and Li looked at Casey with open disbelieve.
Casey ignored their obvious opinion and continued. “The parasites are somehow able to maintain a metabolic balance in the victim’s body, so that the overall picture is one of health. It probably allows the parasites a maximum amount of time to live off their host’s tissues. I don’t know what therapy to recommend, but I suggest you begin with mast cell stimulation and be prepared for total respiratory and cardiovascular support. There is little doubt that Ravi and Jon are terminal, but by treating them you may learn something that will be useful when the next victims begin to arrive.”
Casey directed his attention to Li. “Simon also has an early infestation. That is why you must amputate his foot to save him. I would also suggest that you have Glancy examine you for infestation. It appears the agri-techs are at greatest risk, but it also seems there is a predilection for male victims. So, with luck, you’ll be found to be free of the parasite.”
Li was shaking her head while he spoke.
“I’m sorry, Li.”
Casey eased his stiff body up. When he had completed the slow process, he looked directly into Glancy’s blue eyes. “Padraig, I don’t ask or expect you to believe me. I suspect all our efforts are futile, but you and Li are
the medical team now and the responsibility is yours. I give you only two other recommendations: incinerate Jon and Ravi’s bodies when they die, and spend a few minutes in the cryo-capsule to examine them yourselves. What do you have to lose?”
Casey turned away and shuffled off down the passage with Yamaguchi following closely behind him. Casey heard Li and Glancy become involved in a quiet, yet intense argument, but he did not turn back. He had done all he could.
When Casey was about to disappear around the curve, Glancy called out, “Casey, wait!”
Casey half turned. “Padraig, you don’t need me. I’ll be available for a few days if you have questions about the instrumentation, but you’ll soon become proficient. I’m afraid you’ll have plenty of opportunity to gain experience.”
Chapter 36
When Casey returned to the medical lab, he was greeted joyously by his little dog, its tail whipping back and forth with eye-blurring speed. Casey walked over to his pallet and sat down, pulling his legs up. Marta jumped into his lap, even before he had completely settled in place. He began scratching behind her ears and she pushed her head back against his hand with uninhibited pleasure.
Yamaguchi resumed his position across the room and then spoke. “What is reality?”
That question was one that had been central to Casey’s life since the Awakening. He remembered when Yamaguchi had first asked him that question, during their pleasant stroll in the countryside. This time the question did not seem either esoteric or irrelevant. His focus returned to the present and to Yamaguchi who was patiently waiting, but expecting an answer.
“Before I tell you what I believe about reality, I have a couple of questions for you.”
Yamaguchi remained silent.
“I will take that as a ‘yes’. Is it possible for the Pinnacle to return to space and be reconnected to the star engine? Can we escape this planet?”
Yamaguchi did not speak.
“I have earned the right to know.”
After a moment more, Yamaguchi nodded. “It is possible for the Pinnacle to return to space and reattach to the star engine.”
“Could we return to Earth?”
“No. You have told me we have been in stasis for two thousand years. We do not know where we are or where Earth is and it is not possible for us to locate another suitable planet.”
“Wouldn’t it be better, even if we died trying?”
“The reality of the colony is that they have found paradise. They would not come.”
Casey reluctantly nodded. “You’re right, of course. There is no hope. I have one more question. I told you there were twelve blanks included in the crew. The truth is, there were eleven, and then there is you. You are different. Why were you included?”
This time Yamaguchi’s silence was so long, Casey was beginning to think he would not answer but then he did.
“I am the mission fail-safe. The WSA did not want us to return to Earth. There is nothing to be gained if we were to return. We were to succeed or perish.”
“How would you have prevented it?”
“I know how to destroy the star engine.”
Casey thought for a minute. “Then, you would not allow us to return to Earth even if we could locate it.”
“It is too dangerous for those we left behind.”
Casey sighed. “You are right.”
“Now, answer my question. What is reality?”
Casey gathered his thoughts before answering. "Reality is what we believe about ourselves and the universe around us. It corresponds, more or less, with the ultimate and unknowable reality of the universe. The more accurately our beliefs and perceptions correspond to the unknowable reality, the more successful we are as organisms. We are waves on a bottomless sea without shores, knowing only that small peak of water that is ourselves and possibly a little of the surrounding sea, but never knowing the breadth or the depth of the sea, never knowing the unknowable that is ultimate reality. To know ultimate reality is to know the universe in all its detail. To know the universe is to be the universe.”
Casey shifted his position to get more comfortable and smiled. "Sounds kind of mystical, doesn’t it?” Yamaguchi didn’t reply, so he continued. “We all see and interpret our existence in terms of our expectations but, on this little Eden of ours, that trait has been pathologically exaggerated. Specifically, our window on reality has been narrowed to the point that, what our senses and minds tell us is real is nothing more than a reflection of our expectations and desires, and as our perception of reality falls further and further away from that great and unknowable reality, we come ever closer to extinction. I see no hope for this colony’s survival.”
Yamaguchi was listening, desperately trying to hold onto the meaning of the words even as they fled, leaving nothing more than the faint afterglow of an unremembered dream. “How do I know what is real if you do not tell me?” he asked.
Casey focused his attention on little Marta and patted her fat belly. He didn’t feel frustrated or superior. He was resigned to the fact that the rest of the colony could not remember, or understand, what he knew to be their true state of being.
He reached under his pallet and withdrew a stack of rectangular cards. “Come here, Yamaguchi. I have a gift for you.”
The big man obediently stepped forward and dropped to his knees in front of Casey, so their faces were approximately at the same height.
“Yamaguchi, my friend, I’m going to show you some pictures I’ve taken. When you look at these pictures do not expect at all, let your eyes see, not your mind, and then remember what your eyes have seen.”
Yamaguchi viewed each of the pictures without expression and Casey was certain this reflected his inner state as well. When he had finished, he handed the pictures back to Casey.
“Now I am going to explain to you what you’ve just seen. You saw a green, globular structure that rises directly out of the mud in the center of our camp, rising upward until its peak is lost to sight in a haze of gray clouds. It looks like a free form structure, but it is not. It changes in each picture. It is, in my opinion, alive. It’s also my observation that it is always drizzling or raining, whether it’s apparent day, or apparent night. The ground is not covered by grass, but rather, by a mucky goo of mud and puddles of water. That is the answer to the transformer malfunction. It was sitting in water. In some of the photographs there are white streaks that look like the roots of a tree. At first I thought they were artifacts, but after my recent observation of our unfortunate fellow colonists, I believe they represent some kind of worm life. If that is the case, some of these worms must be over a meter in diameter and a hundred meters long.”
Casey met Yamaguchi’s eyes and the intensity of Yamaguchi’s gaze would have frightened him, if he really cared about such things anymore.
Though Casey had no reason to believe that Yamaguchi could understand or remember, he continued. “I’ve stood in front of this green tower and tried to visualize it, but I can’t see it. I’ve tried to touch it, but I can’t feel it. I believe the expectations of the rest of the colonists are too great for my meager expectations to overcome. I also believe something has happened to the colonists, that they, and you, have been tampered with, but I escaped this manipulation, possibly because of the unconventional location of my cryo-capsule. I can almost remember… something… something happened near the end of my term as guardian. I was terrorized by….” Casey's forehead wrinkled in concentration, but the memory slipped away once again.
Casey looked down into the big, brown eyes of his adoring puppy. When he looked up he was amazed to see Yamaguchi’s cheeks moist with tears, but the big man’s eyes shown with the brightness of undisguised joy.
“I can remember the pictures,” Yamaguchi said, his voice choking with emotion. “You are the teacher of reality.” He bowed his head until his forehead was touching the filthy deck next to Casey’s pallet.
Casey was embarrassed for himself and for Yamaguchi. “Please,” he said,
while gently trying to pull Yamaguchi’s head up, but it would not budge.
Yamaguchi continued. “I am but a pebble and you are a mountain. You are the One,” he declared fervently, his face pressed against the deck.
“Yamaguchi,” Casey said firmly, “get up. I’m only a man, spared by luck, if you can call this luck.”
“Ask me to do. Be the will that directs me. Honor me, Teacher. I live to serve,” the giant rumbled into the deck.
“Would you please get up? Here, get up, and I’ll give you another gift.”
“I do as you command.” The big man sat up and rocked back on his heels, clasping his hands in front of him in a reverent salute.
“This will never do,” Casey muttered. He released a long, exasperated breath and then thought, what difference does it really make? He looked on the deck between his pallet and the bulkhead and found the small, gray box that Lisa had left with him to repair. He held it out to Yamaguchi. “Here, Yamaguchi. Here,” he urged, “take this.”
The man took the camera in his hands, but had eyes only for Casey. Casey tried to ignore the look, but had to stifle a laugh when he thought how much Yamaguchi resembled his little puppy when he scratched her tummy.
“This is a camera,” Casey said. “I don’t have any photographic blocks left, but I’m sure Lisa Bouviet has some, if you can persuade her to part with them.” He showed Yamaguchi how the camera worked and then got up to find the strobe he had rigged to work in conjunction with the camera’s flash. “Now, if you do manage to get hold of some photo blocks, you’ll be able to observe, even if you’re not free to question.”
Yamaguchi’s wide smile revealed teeth that were like little, white rocks spaced along a ridge. “I will do as you instruct, Teacher.”
“Good, fine,” Casey said with a note of resignation. “I do have one more question.”
“Yes, Teacher.”