by Bob Blanton
“That’s cool, how do you do that?”
“By growing the plasma in vats like you do your meat, we can produce thousands of doses of it in short order. Once we have the virus, we grow human tissues we need, similar to the way we grow new limbs for patients. Then once we’ve produced an immune response, we switch to producing plasma. That provides a treatment while we continue to focus on a vaccine.”
“Why don’t you just use the nanites?”
“Because it takes tens of millions of the virus to make one dose,” Linda said. “This way, we only need a few million nanites to make as many doses of the plasma as we want. Until we develop a vaccine, the plasma treatment will minimize the loss of life.”
“Well, I think that sounds really cool. I’m sure Daddy won’t have a problem with it.”
“I don’t know. He has these weird ideas about not extending the life expectancy too much.”
“Well, the birthrate is coming down; he’s gotta start letting some of this technology out to help more people soon,” Catie said. “Do you want me to talk to him?”
“No, I’ll do it. I just wanted to hear what it sounded like to talk about it out loud,” Linda said. “I’m sure he’ll be okay with it.”
Chapter 9
Tyger, Tyger
The Paraxean specialists commuted to the new camp, once it was set up. Dr. Pramar immediately began taking samples of the soil. He and Dr. Teltar assured everyone that it would only be a few more days until they would be able to take off their helmets. All the tests were indicating that the environment was not going to be harmful to Paraxeans or Terrans.
“There goes Kasper,” Liz said as Kasper rocketed his Fox back into the sky. He was making his second delivery of the pod to the compound.
“Flying around with that cargo pod strapped to his belly sure puts him in a foul mood,” Catie said with a giggle.
“It is kind of mean to make him do all the deliveries,” Liz said.
“Hey, it’s either him or one of us,” Catie said. “The other pilots don’t have enough experience to handle that monstrosity.”
“Ohh, I think it’s good for him, it builds character,” Liz said. She definitely didn’t want to be the one flying with that ostrich egg strapped to her Fox.
“That’s what I think,” Catie said.
“Here comes the big Bwana,” Liz said, pointing at Blake as he came out of the command office.
“Hey, remember you’re supposed to bag me a dinosaur!” Catie yelled.
Blake scoffed at her. “I’m hunting what Dr. Teltar tells me to, and he doesn’t have a dinosaur on the list.”
“That’s because there are no dinosaurs on this planet,” Dr. Teltar said.
Suddenly they all heard a lot of yelling coming from the front gate.
“Watch out; he’s coming this way!”
“Back up! Close the gate!”
Catie, Blake, and Liz rushed over to the gate to see what was going on.
Dr. Pramar and his two security guards were running for their lives as some big animal was snorting and bellowing behind them.
“I didn’t think that guy could run that fast,” Liz said. Dr. Teltar was outpacing his security detail by twenty meters as he ran for safety. He had to dodge around the jeep that was just coming out of the compound before he could make it to the gate.
“A Triceratops!” Catie yelled.
“It does have three horns, but I can assure you it is not a dinosaur!” Dr. Teltar gasped.
“Who cares! ADI, make sure to get good pictures,” Catie said. They were all looking at an animal that was as big as a truck and had three horns, one on its nose and two out of the top of its head.
“I am recording from four cameras,” ADI said. “I also have summoned one of the probes to the area to get closeups from overhead.”
“Thanks, ADI.”
Once Dr. Pramar and the security detail were in the compound, the jeep driver spun the wheels as he gunned the engine to get the jeep back into the compound and, hopefully, to safety. Two security guards slammed the gate shut as soon as the jeep was inside. Everybody moved back from the fence, eyeing the beast nervously.
“I’m not sure we have a gun big enough to take that thing down,” Liz said.
“We might have to use the Fox,” Blake said. “Let’s wait and see if it will settle down and leave.”
“What’s got it so riled up?” Mary asked.
“It came charging out of the forest as soon as they drove the jeep out of the compound,” Gary said.
“Maybe it thinks the jeep is a competitor?” Catie said.
“Or a lost mate; he doesn’t seem to see very well,” Liz said. “Maybe he’s mad that we’re keeping his girlfriend in the compound.”
“Jenkins, are you in position to get this thing?” Blake asked the Fox pilot who was on overwatch, hovering above the compound.
“I’m hovering just south of it,” Jenkins replied. “Just say the word, and Catie can try out some triceratops steaks tonight.”
“It’s charging!”
The beast charged at the gate and the jeep, but pulled up twenty meters from the gate.
“He’s bluffing,” Liz said.
“Do you think the electric fence will stop him?” Catie asked.
“Only if he stops before he plows through it,” Blake said. “If he sniffs it, the electric shock might discourage him. I’m not sure he can see it, so he might just run right through it before he feels the shock.”
“Doesn’t look like he can see it,” Liz said as the beast made another charge, this time stopping just five meters from the gate.
“Jenkins, don’t kill it unless it threatens someone,” Blake ordered. “Let’s see if it’ll just keep bluffing and then leave when the jeep doesn’t respond.”
“Fine by me, I’m pretty safe up here,” Jenkins replied.
The beast made another charge, but this time it didn’t stop until it hit the fence. When it realized that the fence was there, it tried to turn to avoid it but crashed into it anyway. It roared as the electrical current hit its body. Then it tried to get free of the fence as the current continued to surge through its body.
“Damn, it’s tearing down the fence!” Catie yelled.
The beast had turned and was running parallel to the fence, knocking down fence post after fence post. It took out thirty meters of fence before it fell to the ground, its body jerking as the electricity continued to surge through it.
“Cut the power to the fence! Then cut away the fence that he knocked down. Get the power back up as soon as you can!” Blake yelled, pointing to the forty or so meters of fence lying on the ground on both sides of the beast. He started walking toward the beast, cautiously looking to see if it would get back up.
“Once the power’s down, I think we can drag it back out with the jeep. That will let us repair the fence. When it finally wakes up, he’ll probably be happy to run back into the forest,” Blake said.
“Power’s down!”
Blake finally reached the animal. It was still jerking its limbs as though it was being shocked, but its spasms were becoming less violent, and its breathing was starting to calm down.
“I think it passed out!”
“Be careful!”
Blake stepped around the beast. He was evaluating how best to tie onto it so they could pull it from the compound. He stood up and put his hands on his hips as he considered the problem. Then suddenly, he was knocked to the ground.
“Oh no!” Catie screamed as she saw a giant tiger-like animal leap out of the grass and land on Blake.
The tiger grabbed Blake around his middle and started to drag him back toward the forest. It was so huge that its jaws could actually close around Blake’s waist, even with him wearing his exosuit.
“Shoot this thing!” Blake yelled.
“No! It’s a tiger; they’re endangered!” Catie yelled.
“On Earth, not here!” Blake yelled back.
“Everybody, stand down
! I’ve got it!” Liz yelled as she leveled her laser rifle at the tiger.
She pulled the trigger. The tiger didn’t even flinch.
“Shoot it!” Blake yelled.
“Hold on, I’m taking care of it,” Liz said as she fired off another blast. Again, it didn’t seem to bother the tiger.
“What are you shooting at?” Catie asked. She was anxiously bouncing on her toes, worried about her uncle. She was starting to think about grabbing a rifle herself.
“One more shot,” Liz said, firing off another blast of the laser.
The tiger dropped Blake and turned and slowly made its way back toward the forest. It looked over its shoulder as if to say, ‘I’m leaving, but only because I want to.’
Two security guards rushed to Blake, picked him up, and dragged him back into the compound.
“Damn, what did you do?!” Blake demanded.
“I saved you from becoming that tiger’s pet,” Liz said. “It probably wouldn’t have been able to break through your exosuit, but I’ll bet it would have kept trying for a while, although for the life of me, I can’t see what it saw in you. We’d better get him into the building so we can get that suit off of him and let Dr. Magor look at him.”
Catie and Liz followed the two security guards as they carried Blake into the building in the center of the compound. It took a minute for everyone to cycle through the airlock and go through the decontamination cycle. By the time Catie was inside, Blake already had the top of his exosuit off, and Dr. Magor was examining him.
“You have second degree burns here on your ribs,” Dr. Magor said. “This should take care of the pain. I’ll mix up some new skin for you, and by morning you’ll be fit as a mallee bull.”
“How did he get burned?!” Catie asked as she watched Dr. Magor put a salve on the burns. “And what is a mallee bull?”
“Liz is a lousy shot,” Blake said, glowering at Liz.
“I hit exactly what I was aiming for,” Liz said. “And that’s how Aussies say fit as a fiddle.”
“If you hit what you were aiming at, then how did I get burned?!” Blake demanded.
“I was aiming for your exosuit,” Liz said. “I wanted to heat it up enough that the tiger would let go.”
“Couldn’t you just shoot it?!”
“Hey, you were the one who went outside the fence without a security team,” Liz said. “It was your mistake; the tiger was just following instinct. I didn’t think it was fair to punish him for your screwup.”
“You really are asking for it,” Blake continued to glower at Liz.
Catie started laughing.
“What?!” Blake demanded.
“’Tyger, tyger, burning bright, in the forests of the night.’ That’s by William Blake.”
“Oh, great!” Blake said.
“At least we didn’t have to dig him out of a bunch of foam,” Liz said. “You sure do find ways to leave your mark on every expedition.”
“I do not want to hear another word about this or that damn foam!” Blake snapped.
“Okay, we’ll make sure to tell anyone we tell the stories to that they are not to mention them to you,” Liz said just before she and Catie finally lost it and had a fit of the giggles.
“What foam did you dig him out of?” Mary asked.
“We have to tell you later when Blake is not around,” Liz said as she struggled to bring her giggling under control.
“I’m going to keelhaul both of you!” Blake hissed.
“We’d better get out of here,” Catie said. “Besides, we have to get that triceratops out of the compound and the fence back up.”
The beast was still out, so Catie had ADI take pictures of her and Liz standing next to it, on it, and in various poses with it. Then she had the team drag it about fifty meters beyond the fence. By the time they were finished, the fence had been repaired. It took another thirty minutes before the beast woke up, which gave Dr. Teltar plenty of time to take some samples from it. It snorted a few times while facing the compound and then turned and walked back into the forest.
It took a while before all the hubbub about the triceratops died down and for everyone to get back to work. Even then, various work teams were playing up the incident. Gary had his Comm on the open channel and was reciting the age-old limerick:
“There was a young lad from Niger
Who smiled as he rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lad inside,
And the smile on the face of the tiger.”
“Oh, Blake is going to hate that,” Catie said.
“What about that?” Liz pointed to Gary doing a rendition of Eye of the Tiger by Survivor:
“It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival”
“Hey, he’s pretty good,” Catie said.
“If Blake gets ahold of him, he won’t be able to sing for a week, much less prance around like that.”
“ADI, are you getting a good recording of this?” Catie asked.
“Of course, Cer Catie. It is historic,” ADI said.
“Ooh, you’re a bad girl.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“I guess Blake will have to go hunting tomorrow,” Liz said as she and Catie were inspecting the fence.
“We’ll see,” Catie said. “He may decide to swear off hunting.”
“We should ask Dr. Teltar to tell him that he wants him to bag that tiger.”
“Oh, you are so mean.”
“Hey, it would give him a chance to get even with it.”
The team unloading the cargo pod was singing a modified version of Tame My Tiger by T. Rex. They had their Comms blasting out the music over the open channel:
“Mister mister
Won't you tame my tiger
Mister mister
Won't you tame my tiger
Won't you give it your love
he’s real wild”
“Oh, Blake is going to hate that one too,” Liz said.
Chapter 10
I Feel Old
“So, you’ve decided to have the implants,” Dr. Metra said.
“I decided I was going to get them as soon as Catie told me about them,” Samantha said. “This is just the first chance I’ve had to come to see you.” They were referring to the implants at the nerves around the tailbone. Catie and Dr. Metra had determined that there were sixteen unused nerves there that used to control the tail before evolution dispensed with the unnecessary appendage. Catie had wanted a way to type without having to use the keyboard on her Comm, or the one projected by her specs.
“Hop up on the table, and I’ll inject the nanites and direct them to the nerves,” Dr. Metra said. “I assume Catie explained the process to you.”
“Yes. You’ll stimulate my brain in the area that controls those nerves, and it will eventually trigger one of the nerves. Whenever it does, the nanite at the end of the nerve will provide endorphins as a reward. Eventually, I’ll learn to consciously trigger the nerves.”
“Correct. It will take about four visits before you develop some control over them, then a few months of diligent practice before you have enough control to use them,” Dr. Metra said. “Can I count on you being diligent?”
“Yes. I’ll set time aside in the morning and evenings to practice,” Samantha said. “Marc might not like it, but he’ll have to deal with it.”
“Why doesn’t he get the implants?”
“He says he’s planning to, but right now, he doesn’t think he’ll have the time to be diligent,” Samantha said.
“He does stay busy.”
“Yes! And he’s making me feel old,” Samantha said. “How can he have so much energy? He’s four years older than I, and he seems to have as much energy as an eighteen-year-old.”
“I assume it’s the youth treatment I gave him.”
“Youth treatment! What’s that?!”
“We usually administer it when a patient is fifty
years old, or forty in Terran years. Your years are longer than ours. I haven’t administered it to anyone else. The captain gave me explicit instructions to not utilize any unnecessary medical treatments outside the parameters of the ones we’ve discussed. Something about minimizing the impact on population growth.”
“What does the treatment do?”
“We repair all the damage that living does to your body: things like arthritis, scar tissue, minor muscle tears, osteoporosis; things like that. Then we clean out the waste that your body doesn’t expel, like plaque in the arteries and the brain; there’s a lot of work to be done in the GI tract. And finally, we force the cells that don’t regenerate on their own to do so. I repair any severe damage in my older patients, but I don’t do any of the regeneration.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Samantha whispered.
“Please don’t make more work for me,” Dr. Metra said. She gave Samantha a little laugh, acknowledging that it had been a joke, or at least she thought it was.
Samantha laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t do any permanent damage. Can you give me the treatment?”
“Of course. You just need to set aside two days so we can administer it.”
“Two days! Can’t you break it down into shorter visits? I could come and stay overnight?”
“MADI, can the regenerative treatment be broken into eight-hour segments?” Dr. Metra asked. MADI was the medical DI from the Sakira. She wasn’t nearly as powerful as ADI, but was very efficient.
“Dr. Metra, the treatment can be divided into three eight-hour sessions and one ten-hour session,” MADI replied.
“Perfect,” Samantha said. “When can we start?”
“I’ll take a scan now,” Dr. Metra said. “I should have the nanites ready in two days. Now, lie back and we’ll do the scan and get those implants in place.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Why didn’t you tell me that Dr. Metra gave you a youth treatment?!” Samantha demanded as she stormed into Marc’s office.