The Lawless One and the End of Time

by Lonnie Pacelli

  “Gene.”

  “I’ll ask you a few questions about your research, then ask you how the department helped you make it all possible. Just give me honest answers, OK?”

  “No problem.” Sal knew just what he was going to say. The cameraman pulled his camera out of his bag, set up two lights, and put the camera on its stand.

  Elise asked her cameraman, “Ready?”

  “Good.” The cameraman said.

  Elise looked quickly at her notes. “three, two, one. I’m Elise Thompson with Columbia University and today I have the distinct pleasure of talking with Sal Carlotta, a doctoral candidate in the biomedical engineering department. He’s been doing groundbreaking research on organ regeneration. Thanks for joining us today, Sal.”

  “Thank you, Elise.”

  Elise gave a quick glance at the cameraman. He responded with a “thumbs-up.”

  “Sal, tell us about your research.” Elise continued.

  “My research involved creation of a microfluidic chip, that, when coupled with genetically-engineered synthetic cells, could repair organ defects. In my project, I created a chip which was attached to a rat’s damaged liver. I then injected a saline solution into the rat’s bloodstream which included genetically engineered dormant liver cells. When the saline solution came in contact with the chip, the dormant liver cells in the solution were activated and went to work on replacing the unhealthy liver cells. After two days, the damage to the liver was completely repaired. What was once a damaged liver became a healthy functioning liver with no trace of damage.”

  “And your rat’s name is Gene, right? How did he get his name?”

  “I named him after my father.”

  Elise was thrown by the answer but recovered quickly and continued with the interview.

  “Your dad, how interesting. When did the experiment with Gene start?” Elise asked.

  “Two years ago.”

  “So, your research is two years old and it’s now just coming to light? Why so long?”

  “Actually, two years is a very short time in the research world. I wasn’t sure about the longer-term effects of the experiment, so I decided to keep the research need-to-know until I had better data. More research needs to be done.”

  “And how’s Gene today?”

  “We’ve tested Gene every week since the experiment, and his liver is healthy.”

  “Are there follow-up treatments required?”

  “None.”

  “Impressive work, Sal! I should note that Sal is not only one of our top doctoral candidates but is also, at 25, the program’s youngest candidate.” Elise teed up her plug for the biomedical engineering program. “How has Columbia’s biomedical engineering program helped make your research a reality?”

  “Not one bit.”

  “I’m sorry?” Elise wasn’t expecting that response.

  “Just kidding.” Sal liked watching Elise get flustered on camera. “Dean Andrews and the rest of the department totally supported me. This project would have gone nowhere without the department’s support.”

  Elise composed herself and continued the interview. “That’s great to hear, Sal. We’re all looking forward to seeing the great things that come of your research. Thanks for your time, Sal.”

  “My pleasure, Elise.”

  The cameraman signaled that the recording had stopped.

  “Hey, that was fun,” Sal said.

  “Why did you do that?”

  Sal gave a mischievous grin. “Just having a little fun.” Sal turned to the cameraman. “You can edit it out. right?”

  “Yeah,” the cameraman said as he was packing up his equipment.

  “See, no harm done. Sorry for putting you on the spot, Elise.”

  Elise was still ticked but showed Sal some grace. “Apology accepted.”

  “Let me make it up to you.” Sal teed up his move. “How about dinner tonight on me?”

  “Sorry, can’t.” A little grace was all Sal was going to get from Elise.

  The cameraman finished packing up. “OK, let’s go,” he said.

  “Thanks for the interview!” Sal said while holding out his hand to Elise.

  “Good luck. Sal.” Elise shook his hand and walked out of the room.

  The cameraman waited for Elise to leave then approached Sal. “You got balls, man,” smiling as he fist-bumped Sal.

  Sal fist-bumped him and smiled.

  Sal’s OOC research was widely published in medical journals, garnering the attention of the medical community, biomedical companies, and investors. There was no shortage of job opportunities for Sal, particularly with biomedical device companies. He could work anywhere he wanted, and knew he was in a position to take advantage of his rock star status. He just wished his mother was there to see it.

  Sal had a hologram recording of his mother from his tenth birthday party that he would play when something or someone reminded him of his mother. Her fiery red hair lightly bounced as she walked from the kitchen to the dining room table with Sal’s birthday cake. He would play that five-second snippet in slow motion over and over again, standing in front of her as if she were walking towards him with the cake. The lit candles glistened in her blue eyes as she led the happy birthday chorus. He always muted the hologram recording right after the singing ended because that was where his father said from behind the camera, “Blow out the candles, Sal!” Just hearing his father’s voice made him cringe, and he’d rather hear nothing than that domineering voice. He’d seen the hologram recording hundreds of times, and knew every movement his mother made, even her crooked smile after he blew out the candles. He couldn’t watch it without tearing up.

  Sal’s job decision criteria were basic; make as much money as possible, focus on cancer’s cure, and stay as far away from his father as he could. Gene had remarried while Sal was in graduate school and later accepted a position as CEO of an investment banking firm requiring a move to Tokyo. Sal would take a job anywhere.

  Except Tokyo.

  Mr. & Mrs. Winn

  2042

  B ert and Laura were both 26 when they married, almost five years to the day from when Bert first told Paul he had a girlfriend. During their courtship they learned about each other’s likes and dislikes, how they wanted to be touched, when they needed time apart from each other. With the help of a pre-marriage counselor who specialized in counseling people with autism, Bert and Laura planned out strategies for how they would respect each other’s preferences, establish clear expectations of each other, define a daily schedule they both could agree to, budget their money, and help with being intimate. Neither of them enjoyed being touched, but they both understood the importance of intimacy in a relationship. They also planned out their spiritual life. Since they were both Christian, they decided to attend church on Sunday mornings, join a small group that met every two weeks for two hours, and donate ten percent of their salaries to their church. Their counselor was impressed, “You’re doing a great job laying out expectations,” she said. “Lots of couples spend years trying to figure out what you’ve already accomplished.” To Bert and Laura, this was completely natural, they couldn’t understand how other married couples got by without knowing what to expect of each other.

  During Bert’s senior year as an undergrad, he decided he wanted to be a history professor. The concreteness of historical facts was such a natural fit for him. He had overcome his fear of public speaking and actually enjoyed teaching others. He liked the predictability of a teaching schedule and felt comfortable in a classroom. He practiced his lectures in front of Laura, who gave him blunt feedback but also encouraged him. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in June 2038, he immediately began graduate studies at Naples University, completing his Ph.D. in four years. He had become well-known at NU during his eight years and was admired for his work ethic, ability to focus, and reliability. In the last year of his Ph.D. program he was offered an associate professorship at NU, which he enthusiastically accepted. Attending Bert’
s graduation ceremony where he became Dr. Bertrand Winn was yet another milestone his parents never envisioned Bert achieving. At each turn Bert surprised his parents with what he could accomplish, demonstrating how someone with autism was “normal” in so many ways. Now as a married man with a Ph.D., Bert continued to exceed his parents’ expectations for the life he would lead.

  Bert and Laura held a simple ceremony at their church. About 30 attended, mostly family members. Paul was his best man and Laura’s sister Amy her maid of honor. Laura’s parents, like Bert’s, had questions about what Laura’s life would be like as an adult. Seeing her in a white dress, becoming Mrs. Bertrand Winn was something they doubted would ever happen for their daughter.

  They had a reception at their church with eggplant parmigiana and tiramisu, the same meal they had at their first dinner together. After about two hours, Bert and Laura said their goodbyes, and left for their wedding night suite at one of Sorrento’s finest hotels, followed by a two-week honeymoon in Greece. Paul helped send them off, then took a late train back to Rome. His client was expecting him the next morning, the client no one said no to.

  Bedside Chats

  2041

  I n October of Paul’s last year at Harvard his father was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer, the very same that took Sal’s mother. He had surgery in November followed by intense chemo. The thought of losing his father agonized Paul. He wanted to quit Harvard to be by his father but Joseph wouldn’t hear of it. His son was going to be a lawyer, and nothing, not even his cancer, was going to slow it down. Paul worked out his schedule to allow him to spend one week a month in Naples with his father, and the rest of his time in Boston. The cancer had progressed to a point where his father couldn’t work, so Paul’s mother, brother and sister covered time at the supermarket. Paul moved a bed into the living room where his father would rest during the day and put a desk right next to the bed so he could study. Some days his father wouldn’t say much, but sometimes he had periods of clarity, talking about random topics. He’d talk about when he was a child growing up in Naples, how the world was such a different place. There was no rationing or ethnarchy structure. He’d talk about meeting Ida at such a young age and how he was so taken by her. He’d talk about the four greatest days of his life, his wedding day and the day each of his three kids were born. Paul asked him questions about his childhood, his hopes, his fears. His father would lie in his bed and tell Paul things he had never revealed about himself before. How he at one time hoped to be an attorney just like Paul was going to be. How he couldn’t believe Ida would be interested in a man like him. How Joseph’s father was an alcoholic who would beat his mother until the day Joseph at age 13 stood up to his father and threatened to kill him if he ever touched her again. Paul recorded their conversations to have after his father’s passing. One particular bedside conversation moved Paul more than the rest.

  “Dad, looking back at your life what’s the single most important piece of advice you would give to someone?” Paul asked.

  “Hmm.” He looked up and to the right as if the answer were stuck in his brain’s right hemisphere. After a minute he stared back at Paul, having found the answer.

  “Don’t let life get in the way of love.” Joseph gave the answer with a clarity and conviction that surprised Paul.

  “Did you let life get in the way of love?” Paul asked.

  “Sometimes. Things got so busy with the supermarket, paying bills, and all the other busy-ness that at times I wasn’t as attentive to you kids and your mother as much as I could have been. Sometimes loving you all wasn’t top of mind, and I took you for granted.”

  Paul was a taken aback by his father’s admission. Growing up he saw his father as very loving and always putting others before himself.

  “Dad, I didn’t feel like you put life before love. I always felt loved by you.” Paul said.

  “Good. I tried my best, but it took work and constant reminders of what was important to me, you kids and your mother. Love takes work, and life can’t get in its way.”

  The two of them sat there quietly for a minute, then Joseph nodded off. Paul turned off the recorder, thankful that he captured that particular conversation.

  Paul graduated with his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard in June. His father was too ill to make the trip, but his mother, brother and sister attended. Caleb stayed with his uncle Joseph and together they watched a live hologram of the graduation ceremony. Joseph drifted in and out of sleep during the ceremony, but was awake enough to let out a, “Good job, son” when Paul was handed his diploma. After the ceremony Caleb called Paul.

  “Congrats, Cuz!” Caleb said.

  “Paolo, I’m so proud of you.” Joseph’s voice was weak, Paul heard wheezing with each breath Joseph took.

  “Thanks, Dad. We’re catching a plane back to Naples tonight, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

  “OK. I love you, Son.”

  “Love you too.”

  Paul, his mother and siblings went straight to the airport to catch their flight back to Naples. Two hours after the flight left Boston Paul got a message from Caleb, “Call me as soon as you can.”

  Super Checkers

  2041

  C aleb was there when his uncle Joseph took his last breath. He died just a few hours after watching Paul get his law degree. Caleb wasn’t particularly close to his aunt and uncle, but Paul asked him to stay with his dad while the rest of the family was in Boston for his graduation. Paul had done so much for Caleb through the years, including encouraging Caleb to pursue his passion for holograms. There was no way Caleb could refuse Paul’s request.

  When Paul got the message from Caleb, his mother was sleeping in the seat next to him, his brother and sister reading in their seats five rows back.

  Paul called Caleb back from his plane seat. “He’s gone,” Caleb said.

  “My gosh.” Paul whispered, so his mother wouldn’t hear him.

  “I’ll call the funeral home and have him taken away.” Caleb said. “You don’t want to see him like this.”

  Paul trusted his cousin’s judgment. “Thanks. We’ll be home in about ten hours.”

  “I’m so sorry, Paul.”

  “Bye.” Paul hung up.

  Paul chose not to tell his mother and siblings on the plane; he waited until they landed in London for their connection to Naples to save them reacting to the news with a plane full of people watching. Paul sat in his seat for the remaining four-hour flight, keeping his father’s death to himself, watching his mother sleep in the seat next to him. He watched her deep breaths, her head slightly bobbing with each breath she took, looking so peaceful, knowing in a few hours he’d give her the worst news she’d ever gotten. He thought about the times he had observed his father demonstrating how much he adored his mother, and how she respected him. He smiled as he thought about his father faithfully taking his mother out on dates every week. He remembered how, when he was a kid, his father was so attentive to him and his siblings, reading to them, playing games with them, encouraging them when they were down. Tears welled as he thought about the “Don’t let life get in the way of love” bedside conversation he had with his father just months earlier. He turned off his overhead light to hide his tears, occasionally taking a napkin to his face when a tear made its way down his cheek. “Thank God she’s asleep,” he thought as he wiped his face, not wanting her to see him crying.

  The plane landed at Heathrow where they had a four-hour layover before their Naples flight. Paul had talked with the flight attendant and arranged a private room at the airline’s lounge. After they disembarked and went through customs, Paul suggested to his mother and siblings they go to the lounge while they waited for their flight. “How nice, Paolo,” his mother said. The concierge had been briefed they were coming and was waiting for them.

  “Mr. Ambrosi, we have a room for you, this way please.” The concierge led them into a room with two sofas facing each other and a table in between. Drinks and sn
acks were already on the table waiting for them. “Paolo, they’re treating you like royalty!” Ida said. This was the first time she had ever been in an airport lounge, let alone one with a private room and refreshments.

  “Sit down, Mom.” His mother was struck with Paul’s serious tone despite being in such luxury.

  Ida, Alberto and Anna sat on the couches. Paul sat next to his mother, facing his siblings. He took Ida’s hands and held them.

  “Paolo?”

  Paul took a deep breath “Dad’s gone.”

  She knew Joseph was sick and that his time was probably near, but she still wasn’t prepared to hear those two words. She lowered her head into her hands that Paul was still holding and started weeping. Always wanting to be strong in front of her kids, she quietly sobbed, her hands covering her face. Paul let go of her hands and gently hugged her, his own tears starting up again. Anna was crying, leaning on Alberto, her face buried in his chest. Alberto leaned back on the couch, looking up and crying, his chest bouncing up and down with each sobbing breath. The four of them continued for five minutes, with Ida quietly saying, “My prince is gone!” over and over between sobs. Ida didn’t ask how or when Paul found out, none of that mattered. It wasn’t going to bring Joseph back.

  “He was the . . .” Paul started then had to stop to compose himself. “He was the best dad.” Anna’s silent sobbing then turned into full-on crying, tears and mascara leaving black wet spots on Alberto’s white shirt. After another five minutes, Paul started in again. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

  “Caleb’s staying at the apartment until we get there. He’s already called the funeral home to take Dad, we’ll see him again at the wake.”

  Ida looked up at Paul and nodded. She did her best to compose herself. “Do you kids remember how Dad would say he always made his dentist appointments at 2:30? You know, tooth-hurty? Your father loved to make us laugh.” Seeing his wife and kids happy was the most important thing in the world to Joseph, and he would stop at nothing to make them laugh.