Singularity: Book Two of the StarCruiser Brilliant Series

by Rick Lakin

  “This operation takes me two hours,” Bob said. “How did you pull that off?”

  “I did it in twelve minutes, Bob,” Ami said. “But I will demonstrate at normal speed.”

  Dr. Ami began the procedure at normal speed.

  “Warning, severe clotting in the left pulmonary artery,” VaNessa said. Life sign alarms sounded.

  “Give me a hand here, Bob.”

  Dr. Ami’s actions accelerated. Dr. Dashman worked on the complication.

  “Warning, severe clotting in pulmonary trunk,” VaNessa said.

  Dr. Ami worked on the trunk. One hour later, the procedure was complete, and the sim was stable.

  “That was way too close,” Bob said. “We'll do it once more, and I will take the lead. VaNessa, reset simulation.”

  “Ready, Doctors,” VaNessa said.

  Bob performed the procedure with Dr. Ami advising. He completed it successfully.

  “Congratulations, Bob,” Ami said. “I think you’re ready.”

  “If things go south in the operating room, I’m going to need you,” Bob said.

  “I’ll be there,” Ami said.

  “What happens if the Marine shoots you?”

  “I’ll be okay,” Ami said. “But….”

  “But what?” Bob asked.

  “Most things in there don’t react well to bullets,” Ami said.

  31

  Kalinda came up the beach after her first heat. Anthen was waiting by the sponsor tent.

  “Your next heat is in thirty minutes.”

  “Any news?” she asked.

  “Chuck messaged me,” Anthen said. “Mia is going into surgery as scheduled”

  She read her father’s expression. “There’s more to the message.”

  “Yes,” Anthen said. “Dr. Ami is not performing the surgery.”

  Kalinda looked at the pier.

  “You knew?” Anthen asked.

  “I did,” Kalinda said.

  “She’ll be alright.”

  “Yes, she will.” She watched Bondi take the last wave of her heat then turned and looked at her father. “Could you have saved mother?”

  All of the energy went out of his eyes as he looked at the waves. “My ship was in another sector battling drone fighters. By the time I got to her sector, the battle was over, and the enemy destroyed. Your mother sacrificed herself to win the battle.” He looked directly at Kalinda. “Your mother is a hero.” He paused and looked down. “If only I could have…”

  “Dad, you’re my hero, too,” Kalinda said.

  “If only I could have gotten there sooner.”

  They hugged.

  “It’s not your fault,” Kalinda said.

  Bondi came up from the beach and stopped.

  The hug continued. Good Will Hunting? he thought.

  He pushed Kalinda away and looked at her. They broke into laughter.

  Bondi raised her eyebrows. “Did I miss something?”

  “Sorry,” Anthen said. “You had to be there.”

  “Good news, Kalinda” Bondi said. “We’re in third place in the Pro-Am.”

  “I’ll put us in first after this heat,” she said as she walked toward the sponsor tent. “I’m going to get a bagel.”

  “Pretty arrogant for a grommet,” Bondi said.

  “It comes from her mother,” Anthen said.

  “Divorce?” Bondi asked.

  “Kalinda’s mother died in battle while saving our planet.”

  “Oh.”

  “And she has this vision thing,” Anthen said. “She can analyze a situation and accurately predict the outcome.”

  “From her mother?” Bondi asked.

  “No, she got that from me.”

  “Interesting family,” Bondi said. “Wish her luck for me. Though it doesn’t sound like she needs it.”

  Bondi walked into the sponsor tent.

  Luck is good, Anthen thought.

  Kalinda was riding the swells during the second amateur heat of the Pro-Am competition. She looked directly west. That storm is going to hit during the last heat.

  Sage Enever was in first place among the amateurs and was trying to build her lead. Kalinda turned her attention toward the blonde competitor as she started paddling into a six-foot wave.

  Good wave, Kalinda thought.

  Sage disappeared as the tube formed. Then Sage and her board came up above the wave.

  Kalinda cringed.

  Sage reached for her rails and came up with air. Wipeout.

  Good try. I’ve got this, Kalinda thought.

  The two commentators on SurfTube sat next to a camera on scaffolding twenty feet above the beach. “Sage Enever wipes out,” Biff said. “But she still has the points after this heat to lead the amateurs over second-place Kalinda Kelrithian.”

  “Don’t count out the ten-year-old, Biff,” Simone said. “She has one more wave in this heat.”

  Kalinda turned to the incoming swells, spotted the one she wanted, turned to the beach, started paddling, and stalled the pocket. She pumped the board to gain speed as the curl formed above her.

  The crowd on the beach turned to watch and started cheering.

  The two 3D drones focused on Kalinda. “She’s found the wave she wants,” Biff said. “It’s the tallest wave of the day.”

  Kalinda exploded out of the tube, hit the lip, and went airborne. Surrounded by the sky, the sea, and the nearby camera drone, Kalinda threw back her legs beyond horizontal, reached down, and grasped her rail. As the crest of the wave passed beneath her, she compressed her body to regain her footing and then stood to complete the trick.

  “Wow, a Superman!” Biff said. “The ten-year-old goes highlight reel.”

  “Let’s look at the three judges, Biff,” Simone said. “Eight-point-five, eight-point-eight. The last judge is thinking. Nine-point-three.”

  “Simone, that gives the youngest surfer in the competition a clear lead on the amateur board,” Biff said. “This girl has game.”

  “They’re updating the Pro Board, Biff,” Simone said. “Kalinda is now thirteenth overall in the competition with two heats remaining.”

  “And no surprises, here,” Biff said. “Bondi Cooper and Kalinda Kelrithian lead the Pro-Am Competition. You’re watching the 2067 Oceanside Pro-Am on the Surfer Channel. We’ll be right back.”

  As Bondi stood next to Anthen, she said, “The arrogant grommet did it.”

  “More to come,” Anthen said.

  32

  Less than twenty-four hours after a turbine blade from the engine of her helicopter had destroyed her heart and lungs, Lieutenant Commander Mia Rodriguez was in the operating room at the Balboa Naval Hospital under anesthesia to receive her regenerated organs.

  Dr. Ami, who had transplanted temporary virtual organs into the patient aboard StarCruiser Brilliant stood in the corner of the operating room and observed Dr. Robert Dashman directly and on an interactive 3-D monitor. Around the patient, were a second surgeon, Imani Hiroga, an anesthetist, and three nurses.

  She looked up to the gallery where Rear Admiral Hartog, Senator Ramona Curtwell, and several other doctors sat behind the glass. To her left was an armed Marine Gunnery Sergeant whose sole task was to enforce the Senator’s wishes with deadly force if necessary.

  “Are the replacement organs ready?” Dr. Dashman said.

  “Yes, Doctor,” the regen nurse said.

  “Is the heart-lung machine ready?”

  “Yes, Doctor,” the heart-lung operator said.

  He looked up at Dr. Ami.

  Dr. Ami smiled and mouthed the words “good luck.”

  “Let’s begin,” Dr. Dashman said. “I’m making the cut along the rib junction on the sternum.” He began the surgery. “Apply the rib spreaders, Imani.”

  The assisting surgeon split the ribs.

  “In place,” Imani said.

  “Initiate Heart-lung bypass,” Dr. Dashman said.

  “Oxygen and circulation are stable,” the operator sai
d.

  Dr. Dashman removed the left and right lobes, and the heart.

  “Look at the scarring and the repairs,” Dr. Dashman said. “This injury should not have been survivable. Dr. Ami, you performed a miracle.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Ami said.

  In the observation gallery, Senator Curtwell spoke to Admiral Hartog, “Make sure you edit those words out of the video. I don't want that damn robot to get any credit for this.”

  “Yes, Senator,” Admiral Hartog said.

  “Replacing the regenerated organs,” Dr. Dashman said. “Imani work the right side.”

  “Yes, Doctor,” Imani said as she stitched the pulmonary arteries and veins.”

  The two experienced surgeons worked in concert.

  “Done,” Dr. Dashman said. “Massaging the heart.” It began to beat.

  “Normal sinus rhythm, Doctor,” VaNessa said.

  “Very well,” he said. “Secure the heart-lung machine.”

  “Vital signs stable,” the VaNessa said.

  “Securing the mini-projector.” He held his breath, lifted the device away from the patient, and turned it off.

  Alarms sounded. “Warning, severe clotting in the left pulmonary artery,” VaNessa said.

  “Applying a stent,” Dr. Dashman said.

  “No effect, Doctor,” Imani said.

  More alarms sounded. “Warning, severe clotting in the pulmonary trunk,” VaNessa said.

  “Dr. Ami, please assist me.”

  Dr. Ami took a step toward the operating table.

  The Gunnery Sergeant pulled his service weapon and pointed it at Dr. Ami. “Step away from the table, Doctor.”

  Dr. Ami froze.

  In the gallery, Senator Curtwell stood and pounded on the glass, “Noooo. Get that android away from my daughter.”

  The EKG audio went to a solid tone. “Warning: Patient is in cardiac arrest,” VaNessa said.

  Imani began massaging the heart. “We’re losing her, Doctor.”

  33

  Kalinda walked to the tent after her second heat. She looked back at the black clouds building in the west.

  Bondi Cooper met Kalinda as she headed toward the holding area for her third heat. “The forecasters say the storm will miss us.”

  “Get all the points you can on the next two heats, Coach,” Kalinda said. “You won’t get a fourth.”

  “The vision thing?” Bondi asked.

  “On Xaphnore, the weather can be violent. We’ve got a weather sense.”

  “Do you miss your home?”

  “I spent most of my time in space with my te’ma and te’pa and sometimes my tal’pa, my grandfather,” Kalinda said.

  “How did you learn English?” Bondi asked.

  “The Hoclarth Alliance has a cloaked satellite.” She pointed up. “It monitors Earth’s Internet. I watched Sesame Street.”

  The horn sounded, and the pro surfers ran to the water.

  “Good luck,” Kalinda shouted.

  Kalinda walked up the beach and met her father.

  “Bonding with Bondi,” Anthen said.

  “A little alliteration, te’pa?” Kalinda said.

  “Just jesting, my juvenile child.”

  “Forevermore fatiguingly funny, father.”

  “You win,” Anthen said. “What did you tell Bondi?”

  “I told her that she'd only get three heats,” Kalinda said.

  “You’re right,” Anthen said. “I feel it, too but you will get all four heats. Hurry up to the tent. They’ve got sandwiches laid out.”

  Kalinda didn’t move. “Any news?”

  “She’s in the operating room.”

  “It’s not going well,” Kalinda said. “Dad, please hold my board.”

  Kalinda ran to the sponsor tent and ran into the Jennifer, Tayla, David, and Riley. They high-fived her, and they hugged.

  Jennifer saw her father, went down the beach, and hugged him.

  “She looks worried. Is the pressure getting to her?”

  Anthen frowned. “Mia’s surgery is not going well.”

  “She doesn’t want her friend losing her mother,” Jennifer said.

  “Yes.”

  “Dr. Ami got her this far,” Jennifer said. “She’ll get Mia through this.”

  “Dr. Ami’s not doing the surgery.”

  Now, Jennifer looked worried. “That’s bad. How does Kalinda handle all that?”

  “Her mother had an inner strength that I never had,” Anthen said. “Kalinda inherited that.”

  “I’m proud of you, Dad,” Jennifer said.

  “Thanks,” Anthen said. He tried to smile.

  “Seriously,” Jennifer said. “Kalinda and I are strong, and a lot of that comes from you.”

  They hugged.

  Tayla and the others joined. “Kalinda’s the top amateur,” Tayla said. “And she’s climbing the open ranking.”

  Kalinda grabbed a plate of food and Sage Enever offered her a seat.

  “It’s just you and me in the amateurs, grommet,” Sage said.

  “You’re right behind me on the pro board, too,” Kalinda said.

  “You look worried,” Sage said.

  “My friend's mother is in surgery,” Kalinda said. “We rescued her on our way back from the moon, yesterday. Our ship's doctor saved her life, and she is getting her heart and lungs replaced today.”

  “You’re from another planet, aren’t you?” Sage asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Do they have surfing there?”

  “Sort of,” Kalinda said. “We don’t have surfboards. We take a leaf from a framlin tree and ride the surf.”

  “How big are the waves?”

  “Remember the building at the head of the pier,” Kalinda said. It was a thirty-story high-rise. “About a third of the way up.”

  “That’s fifty meters,” Sage said. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “Yes,” Kalinda said. “My mom would only let me go out on quiet days when they are half that high.”

  “Attention, five minutes to the third amateur heat,” the announcer said.

  “Let’s get busy,” Kalinda said. “Good luck, Sage.”

  “You too, grommet,” Sage said. “Don’t show us up too much.”

  Kalinda was riding the increasing swells after wiping out on her first two waves. Her other waves had broken down before she could get a good score. The current set looked promising for the last wave of this heat.

  It was so peaceful that she almost forgot about Jeff and his mom. There was foam at the top of the swells. Whitecaps. The wind is starting to build ahead of the storm, Kalinda thought.

  Kalinda watched Sage paddle into her wave. She dropped out of sight into the pocket. Then Sage went aerial and rotated 360.

  Omigod, Kalinda thought.

  On SurfTube, “Our leader, Kalinda Kelrithian, is having a tough go this heat,” Simone said. “But here comes Sage Enever.”

  “She drops in the pocket of the ten-foot wave,” Biff said. “She is pumping out of a nice ride in the tube. Up she goes, bottom-turns three-sixty and stays upright on her board. Alley-oop.”

  “Good scoring wave,” Simone said.

  “She’s still pumping, up she goes, and another Alley-oop.”

  “Definitely enough to take over first place,” Simone said.

  Kalinda paddled into the swell, the wave formed, and she dropped into the pocket. She started pumping. It got quiet as she concentrated on her trick. In flight terms, Sage's alley-oop was a 360-degree yaw maneuver. Kalinda intended to add a roll and go inverted. She was gaining speed. If only there’s some wave left when I get there, she thought.

  “Here comes the ten-year-old phenom,” Biff said. “She has dropped into the pocket and started pumping in the curl.”

  The on-screen graphic showed her speed across the wave at 18.9 miles-per-hour.

  “Look at her speed, Biff,” Simone said. “Those numbers rival Kelly Joel Slater at The Eddie last year.”

 
“She may outrun the wave,” Biff said. She climbs the lip. Look at that air. She does the alley-oop inverted; she comes down into the foam; she loses it and…wipeout.”

  “Not enough wave for that trick, Biff,” Simone said. “But after the third amateur heat, she’ll still have enough points to stay very close to Sage Enever.”

  “More to come from Oceanside, California,” Biff said. “We’ll be right back.”

  The patient was in cardiac arrest, and a Marine Gunnery Sergeant had his service weapon pointed at Dr. Ami

  “Stand Down, Marine,” Dr. Dashman said.

  “I cannot, sir,” the Marine said. “I'm under strict orders.”

  “Warning: Patient is in cardiac arrest.”

  Admiral Hartog activated the intercom. “Gunnery Sergeant, stand down and holster your weapon.”

  The Marine put his weapon in his holster, turned to the gallery, saluted and said, “Aye aye, Admiral.”

  Senator Curtwell angrily turned to the hospital administrator. “I will have your flag, Admiral Hartog.”

  The hospital commander activated the intercom. “Dr. Ami, please assist Dr. Dashman. My apologies for the confusion. Gunnery Sergeant, please escort the senator to the waiting room.”

  “You just sacrificed your career for that robot.”

  “Senator,” Admiral Hartog said. “You may take my flag, but I'll still be a medical doctor, and the primary job in this hospital will remain saving lives.”

  The Marine came in and led Senator Curtwell out of the gallery.

  Dr. Ami stepped up to the operating table and began work. At first, she assisted Dr. Dashman.

  He observed the rapidity with which Dr. Ami worked. He withdrew his hands. Ami continued to work at a frenetic pace.

  “Patient has resumed sinus rhythm,” VaNessa said.

  “I recommend that we begin closing, Bob,” Dr. Ami said.

  “Good job, Ami,” Dr. Dashman said. “You saved her again.”

  They finished stitching the wounds.

  “Bring her out of anesthesia,” Dr. Dashman said. “Status, VaNessa?”

  “The patient is in Critical but Stable condition with full brain function.”