// into the fold -- one
Well, I finally did it. I buckled down and finished the chapter. Let's hope I can complete this challenge!!!
One
December 18, 2013
Baylor University Medical Center
Dallas, TX
Movies depicted unfathomable things for the future. As time went on it was discovered some of the ideas from movies were reality. Of course if you looked at a film like Blade Runner, despite being made in the eighties it was far off. When I watched movies about the future as I grew up, I dreamed some of it was possible. Society had progressed to flying cars, which stemmed from wanting to make the world a greener place. There were no wars out in space because even in this year we're not progressed enough to even have mass quantities of people living on other planets.
Mars is a work in progress. After countless tests it was discovered we couldn't stabilize the air enough to live there without a pressurizing dome. Still, other scientists plodded ahead and found an anti-dote. It became a trend for the rich to take a vacation on Mars. All you need is a shot before you get onto the spaceship and two more before being let down onto Mars' red earth. Throughout the stay it is necessary to take a pill a day to remain stabilized. Food remains in a pressurized home, only to be consumed indoors. I daydream about Mars, but my salary would never allow it.
Outside of the usual wars, Earth remained somewhat peaceful. Well, at least as peaceful as it could be. Wars still continued in foreign countries and our troops continued to give aid. In underground circles there was talk of a new experiment with the soldiers, but I was overlooked and left in the field of curing cancer. And I was okay with remaining where I was.
Half-way through college my mother was diagnosed with a serious case of cancer. She went into remission, but the cancer came back rapidly and took her before she had the chance to fight. After graduation I was offered a job at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. We mostly worked with chimpanzees, but once there was a breakthrough we had human patients. My assistant and I stumbled on something huge and strange. There was something eerie and off about the whole thing.
It came down to molecules and basic science, something to draw the cancer out of the body. The double edged sword was figuring out how dispose of the condensed cancer. Daisy, our favorite of our chimpanzees was the last we were to cure. She sat in her tiny, special made chair with a pink bow tied in her hair. Toby Mitchells joined me straight out of medical school. He was at the top of his class and joined me when he was twenty six. I had a good four years on him, but it didn't put any distance between our friendship. It took us two years to find a good lead on the cure for cancer. Daisy loved Toby, she tried to show him each day with a hug at the end of our sessions. No matter how many needles we used on her, Daisy's strange love for us never wavered. Her brother, Davey, went through our proven treatment first without any setbacks or problems. Rumors went around the Medical Center about our breakthrough and the other doctors were eager to see what steps we made.
Toby spoke quietly to Daisy as he handed her a breathing mask. I watched as she took it from him and held it over her nose and mouth. We used what is essentially a breathalyzer, but it went directly to the patient and had special chemicals mixed into it. Before striving forward we applied for a grant and patent for our breakthrough. It still was strange and surreal to think we managed to figure out how to break down the proper molecules. People don't seem to realize anymore that everything is energy and molecules, nothing more and nothing less. We first figured out the exact make-up of the particular cancer to find the anti-dote. Each type of cancer needed a different anti-dote because of the make-up. Daisy's was specialized, as was Davey's. She inhaled the heavily watered air mixed with her cure, her large hands held onto the mask with one hand as she looked around the room curiously at all of the unfamiliar faces surrounding her.
Everyone watched Daisy spellbound as I explained the process to them. I left out the formulas to prevent from copying our anti-dote. Once it was perfected we could give it to the world. It was a matter of minutes before Daisy looked a lot better. She grinned through the mask and I couldn't help but laugh a little. We ran some tests in front of the crowd to show the cancer was nearly cleared from her system. Daisy obliged to another sitting with the mask.
It was one female medical student who was so excited she shrieked out of happiness. It was then that we discovered something high pitched set off a major problem. My eyes fell to the floor where there was a single, strange flame, only inches above the ground. The student who shrieked had round brown eyes, full of wonder and fear. A sharp, piercing noise eminated from the flame. I looked sharply at Toby, whose blue eyes stared at the flame in confusion. I pressed my fingers to my lips and everyone fell silent. Toby was several steps ahead of me, carefully he kneeled down by the flame and held a mason jar above it. With a hurried movement he put it over the flame and held down on it.
"Is it hot?" I quietly asked.
He looked up at me, "Not at all. Let's get them out of here, we can't do much more with them here."
"I'm sorry, we have to cut this short. Something unexpected happened, but you'll see that Daisy here is perfectly safe. We'll conduct some tests to show the cancer has completely left her system at the same time tomorrow." I held up my hands, then ushered the whispering on-lookers away.
I made promises to doctors up higher than us to follow up with a report. I sighed heavily once the door was closed, then leaned my back against the frame. My eyes opened a sound from across the room. I watched as Toby used duct tape to seal the mason jar to the ground. The flame remained steady and flickered for only brief moments. I raised an eyebrow and Toby shrugged.
"We're on the first floor, there's only concrete below the linoleum."
"Good point."
I crossed over to Daisy. I gently guided her hand down, the mask from her face and revealed a grin. Toby excused himself and promised to return. I led Daisy back to the atrium she shared with Davey. I locked up after giving each of them a banana.
Those unfamiliar with the field of medical care and science never understand the need for a clean environment. The laboratory contained the basics Toby and I needed to experiment. Plenty of counter space, refrigerators, a multi-parameter monitor, vision screners, peak flow meters, colposcopes, centrifuges, burners, respiratory therapy equipment, defibrillator, electrodes, vials, microscopes and more. We kept the place as clean as possible and sterilized the surfaces when the occasion called for it. The only actual mess in the lab remained on our desks, endless amounts of paper in a strange and chaotic order.
I sat down on the ground next to the strange flame covered up with the mason jar. It was still there, flickering as bright as ever. Hesitantly, I touched the mason jar and wasn't surprised when it was still the same temperature as the room. The noise was gone, but I resisted the urge to remove the duct tape and lift the jar. Puzzled, I continued to stare at the flame until the door to the lab opened. Toby had a brick in one hand, his other hand had a glove on it and he held piece of clear glass in it.
"What's the plan?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I hit Chuck up on his offer to help me out sometime. I have some bulletproof glass here and a brick. I figure I can peel the tape off while you hold the jar down. Then carefully slip the glass under it, move to a counter and then slip the damn thing on the brick."
"We really need something better than duct tape."
Toby stared at me seriously, "Do you have a better idea?"
I bit my lip and shrugged. "Honestly? No, but duct tape seems so juvenile."
"Juvenile is my middle name." He grinned and knelt down to my level.
We carried out the plan as he suggested. I watched with wide eyes as the whole thing worked out in our favor. I didn't dare breathe until it was on the lab counter and securely taped down to the brick. Toby exhaled after I did and we looked at each other.
"What the hell is this?"
"You've got me. I don't think we should mess with it until we know a little more about it."
There was no knock on the door, a resident nurse rushed into the room. "Turn on the news. Hurry!"
Toby found the remote to the television first, turned on CNN. Anderson Cooper was on the screen, looking wide-eyed. Usually he was so compose and cool. The right of the screen was taken up with a gory scene. Israel was the scene of location according to the bottom of the screen. It was close to dark, but bright enough to see the remains and bodies on the earth. The reporter on location pointed out there was very little blood left in the bodies and next to none found on the ground. A news photographer tipped the station about the mysterious scene.
It seemed to be the average, everyday war scene in a foreign country... but something felt off. Watching the camera pan across the ground, revealing bodies surrounded by sparse homes sent a chill straight down my spine. The female reporter shook and there was fear in her dark eyes. She spoke quickly and in short pieces.
"Do we know when this happened?" Anderson cradled his chin on one of his palms.
There was a delay, but the reporter responded. "Last night, a bit after sunset. We have no further information. Our source is completely anonymous."
"I can't seem to -" Anderson paused. "Are there bullet holes?"
"None at all. There's shell casings on the ground, but no bullets to be found on the victims. Currently we have a medical examiner taking a closer look at the bodies for more information."
"The day before the United States joined up with Israel against Gaza. Several of our soldiers are missing in action. A list will be created, but keep your lines open if you have a loved one surviving within this war." Anderson shook his head. "I don't know what to make of all this. This is Anderson Cooper signing off."
CNN switched to other news anchors, but the topic continued on the mystery of the war. It was revealed the government did not want the information to leak through to the citizens of the world, but it was too late. The news photographer was to blame, but the name of the informant remained unrevealed. Toby and I managed to sit down, but only to stare at the screen in wonder. The phone rang shrilly and pulled us out of the television induced daze.
I picked up the phone since I was closer to it. "Doctor Weston speaking.".
"Doctor Liv Weston?" His voice was tenor.
"This is she."
"How would you like to help the world out?" He waited for a beat, when I didn't respond he continued. "I'm sure you're aware of the epidemic the world is facing, but you could help out more than you know."
"Is this a crank call? I don't appreciate this." I slammed the phone down in fury and turned back to the television.
The phone rang again. I waved a hand in dismissal. Toby rolled his eyes and picked up the phone. He held the phone out to me. "He's asking for you."
"Hang up."
He shrugged and hung up the phone. "What was that all about? Didn't seem like a crank call."
"Said I could save the world."
Toby smiled at me faintly. "We sort of are. Look at the progress we've made with Daisy and Davey. Soon they'll let us try it on humans."
"But the flame -"
"It only happened once. Maybe the resident screaming a little triggered it. We have time to experiment on it."
"It's not me only. It's you too, Toby. I couldn't have gotten this far without you."
The phone rang again and I picked it up. "Listen, this is getting really old. And I don't know what epidemic you're talking about. I don't appreciate your wasting my time."
"Wait!" There was fear in his voice this time. "How can I convince you? There's so much more they aren't showing you on the news. The public has to be left in the dark or there will be a full blown panic. I'm surprised this much information has gotten leaked through."
I froze. "What do you know about the bodies?"
"Far more than I can reveal on this line. It isn't secure."
"Cut the shit."
"Doctor Weston, I'm not trying to pull a fast one on you. A team that can find a cure for cancer can find a cure for the epidemic that will spread to everyone."
"I'm supposed to trust a nameless man on some whim?"
"My name is JT Hanson. I was the photographer at the scene. I know far more than you do, but you won't understand until I know I can trust you. You will receive a package shortly, in there you will find two secure phones. We'll be in touch."
And he hung up. I stared at the phone, dumbfounded. Toby took the phone from my hand and hung it up. "What the hell was that about?"
"Some headcase thinks the dead bodies are apart of an epidemic. He said he's sending some secure phones. He thinks we can cure some virus. I mean, all we have are dead bodies with little or no blood. It doesn't mean there is an epidemic."
"And how does he know this?"
I shook my head. "He claims he was the photographer."
A polite knock sounded on the door. Toby opened the door to a man in a white lab coat, dark red hair and green eyes. He looked as though he was in his early thirties. He had a large envelope and handed it to Toby with a flourish.
"Compliments of JT," his voice had a hint of an Irish accent to it.
The man left with a nod and closed the door behind him. Toby opened the envelope and pulled out two sleek, black cell phones. He discarded the envelope to the ground and handed one of the phones to me.
"Crank?"
I drew in a deep breath and shook my head. "I don't know what to think anymore."
One
December 18, 2013
Baylor University Medical Center
Dallas, TX
Movies depicted unfathomable things for the future. As time went on it was discovered some of the ideas from movies were reality. Of course if you looked at a film like Blade Runner, despite being made in the eighties it was far off. When I watched movies about the future as I grew up, I dreamed some of it was possible. Society had progressed to flying cars, which stemmed from wanting to make the world a greener place. There were no wars out in space because even in this year we're not progressed enough to even have mass quantities of people living on other planets.
Mars is a work in progress. After countless tests it was discovered we couldn't stabilize the air enough to live there without a pressurizing dome. Still, other scientists plodded ahead and found an anti-dote. It became a trend for the rich to take a vacation on Mars. All you need is a shot before you get onto the spaceship and two more before being let down onto Mars' red earth. Throughout the stay it is necessary to take a pill a day to remain stabilized. Food remains in a pressurized home, only to be consumed indoors. I daydream about Mars, but my salary would never allow it.
Outside of the usual wars, Earth remained somewhat peaceful. Well, at least as peaceful as it could be. Wars still continued in foreign countries and our troops continued to give aid. In underground circles there was talk of a new experiment with the soldiers, but I was overlooked and left in the field of curing cancer. And I was okay with remaining where I was.
Half-way through college my mother was diagnosed with a serious case of cancer. She went into remission, but the cancer came back rapidly and took her before she had the chance to fight. After graduation I was offered a job at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. We mostly worked with chimpanzees, but once there was a breakthrough we had human patients. My assistant and I stumbled on something huge and strange. There was something eerie and off about the whole thing.
It came down to molecules and basic science, something to draw the cancer out of the body. The double edged sword was figuring out how dispose of the condensed cancer. Daisy, our favorite of our chimpanzees was the last we were to cure. She sat in her tiny, special made chair with a pink bow tied in her hair. Toby Mitchells joined me straight out of medical school. He was at the top of his class and joined me when he was twenty six. I had a good four years on him, but it didn't put any distance between our friendship. It took us two years to find a good lead on the cure for cancer. Daisy loved Toby, she tried to show him each day with a hug at the end of our sessions. No matter how many needles we used on her, Daisy's strange love for us never wavered. Her brother, Davey, went through our proven treatment first without any setbacks or problems. Rumors went around the Medical Center about our breakthrough and the other doctors were eager to see what steps we made.
Toby spoke quietly to Daisy as he handed her a breathing mask. I watched as she took it from him and held it over her nose and mouth. We used what is essentially a breathalyzer, but it went directly to the patient and had special chemicals mixed into it. Before striving forward we applied for a grant and patent for our breakthrough. It still was strange and surreal to think we managed to figure out how to break down the proper molecules. People don't seem to realize anymore that everything is energy and molecules, nothing more and nothing less. We first figured out the exact make-up of the particular cancer to find the anti-dote. Each type of cancer needed a different anti-dote because of the make-up. Daisy's was specialized, as was Davey's. She inhaled the heavily watered air mixed with her cure, her large hands held onto the mask with one hand as she looked around the room curiously at all of the unfamiliar faces surrounding her.
Everyone watched Daisy spellbound as I explained the process to them. I left out the formulas to prevent from copying our anti-dote. Once it was perfected we could give it to the world. It was a matter of minutes before Daisy looked a lot better. She grinned through the mask and I couldn't help but laugh a little. We ran some tests in front of the crowd to show the cancer was nearly cleared from her system. Daisy obliged to another sitting with the mask.
It was one female medical student who was so excited she shrieked out of happiness. It was then that we discovered something high pitched set off a major problem. My eyes fell to the floor where there was a single, strange flame, only inches above the ground. The student who shrieked had round brown eyes, full of wonder and fear. A sharp, piercing noise eminated from the flame. I looked sharply at Toby, whose blue eyes stared at the flame in confusion. I pressed my fingers to my lips and everyone fell silent. Toby was several steps ahead of me, carefully he kneeled down by the flame and held a mason jar above it. With a hurried movement he put it over the flame and held down on it.
"Is it hot?" I quietly asked.
He looked up at me, "Not at all. Let's get them out of here, we can't do much more with them here."
"I'm sorry, we have to cut this short. Something unexpected happened, but you'll see that Daisy here is perfectly safe. We'll conduct some tests to show the cancer has completely left her system at the same time tomorrow." I held up my hands, then ushered the whispering on-lookers away.
I made promises to doctors up higher than us to follow up with a report. I sighed heavily once the door was closed, then leaned my back against the frame. My eyes opened a sound from across the room. I watched as Toby used duct tape to seal the mason jar to the ground. The flame remained steady and flickered for only brief moments. I raised an eyebrow and Toby shrugged.
"We're on the first floor, there's only concrete below the linoleum."
"Good point."
I crossed over to Daisy. I gently guided her hand down, the mask from her face and revealed a grin. Toby excused himself and promised to return. I led Daisy back to the atrium she shared with Davey. I locked up after giving each of them a banana.
Those unfamiliar with the field of medical care and science never understand the need for a clean environment. The laboratory contained the basics Toby and I needed to experiment. Plenty of counter space, refrigerators, a multi-parameter monitor, vision screners, peak flow meters, colposcopes, centrifuges, burners, respiratory therapy equipment, defibrillator, electrodes, vials, microscopes and more. We kept the place as clean as possible and sterilized the surfaces when the occasion called for it. The only actual mess in the lab remained on our desks, endless amounts of paper in a strange and chaotic order.
I sat down on the ground next to the strange flame covered up with the mason jar. It was still there, flickering as bright as ever. Hesitantly, I touched the mason jar and wasn't surprised when it was still the same temperature as the room. The noise was gone, but I resisted the urge to remove the duct tape and lift the jar. Puzzled, I continued to stare at the flame until the door to the lab opened. Toby had a brick in one hand, his other hand had a glove on it and he held piece of clear glass in it.
"What's the plan?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I hit Chuck up on his offer to help me out sometime. I have some bulletproof glass here and a brick. I figure I can peel the tape off while you hold the jar down. Then carefully slip the glass under it, move to a counter and then slip the damn thing on the brick."
"We really need something better than duct tape."
Toby stared at me seriously, "Do you have a better idea?"
I bit my lip and shrugged. "Honestly? No, but duct tape seems so juvenile."
"Juvenile is my middle name." He grinned and knelt down to my level.
We carried out the plan as he suggested. I watched with wide eyes as the whole thing worked out in our favor. I didn't dare breathe until it was on the lab counter and securely taped down to the brick. Toby exhaled after I did and we looked at each other.
"What the hell is this?"
"You've got me. I don't think we should mess with it until we know a little more about it."
There was no knock on the door, a resident nurse rushed into the room. "Turn on the news. Hurry!"
Toby found the remote to the television first, turned on CNN. Anderson Cooper was on the screen, looking wide-eyed. Usually he was so compose and cool. The right of the screen was taken up with a gory scene. Israel was the scene of location according to the bottom of the screen. It was close to dark, but bright enough to see the remains and bodies on the earth. The reporter on location pointed out there was very little blood left in the bodies and next to none found on the ground. A news photographer tipped the station about the mysterious scene.
It seemed to be the average, everyday war scene in a foreign country... but something felt off. Watching the camera pan across the ground, revealing bodies surrounded by sparse homes sent a chill straight down my spine. The female reporter shook and there was fear in her dark eyes. She spoke quickly and in short pieces.
"Do we know when this happened?" Anderson cradled his chin on one of his palms.
There was a delay, but the reporter responded. "Last night, a bit after sunset. We have no further information. Our source is completely anonymous."
"I can't seem to -" Anderson paused. "Are there bullet holes?"
"None at all. There's shell casings on the ground, but no bullets to be found on the victims. Currently we have a medical examiner taking a closer look at the bodies for more information."
"The day before the United States joined up with Israel against Gaza. Several of our soldiers are missing in action. A list will be created, but keep your lines open if you have a loved one surviving within this war." Anderson shook his head. "I don't know what to make of all this. This is Anderson Cooper signing off."
CNN switched to other news anchors, but the topic continued on the mystery of the war. It was revealed the government did not want the information to leak through to the citizens of the world, but it was too late. The news photographer was to blame, but the name of the informant remained unrevealed. Toby and I managed to sit down, but only to stare at the screen in wonder. The phone rang shrilly and pulled us out of the television induced daze.
I picked up the phone since I was closer to it. "Doctor Weston speaking.".
"Doctor Liv Weston?" His voice was tenor.
"This is she."
"How would you like to help the world out?" He waited for a beat, when I didn't respond he continued. "I'm sure you're aware of the epidemic the world is facing, but you could help out more than you know."
"Is this a crank call? I don't appreciate this." I slammed the phone down in fury and turned back to the television.
The phone rang again. I waved a hand in dismissal. Toby rolled his eyes and picked up the phone. He held the phone out to me. "He's asking for you."
"Hang up."
He shrugged and hung up the phone. "What was that all about? Didn't seem like a crank call."
"Said I could save the world."
Toby smiled at me faintly. "We sort of are. Look at the progress we've made with Daisy and Davey. Soon they'll let us try it on humans."
"But the flame -"
"It only happened once. Maybe the resident screaming a little triggered it. We have time to experiment on it."
"It's not me only. It's you too, Toby. I couldn't have gotten this far without you."
The phone rang again and I picked it up. "Listen, this is getting really old. And I don't know what epidemic you're talking about. I don't appreciate your wasting my time."
"Wait!" There was fear in his voice this time. "How can I convince you? There's so much more they aren't showing you on the news. The public has to be left in the dark or there will be a full blown panic. I'm surprised this much information has gotten leaked through."
I froze. "What do you know about the bodies?"
"Far more than I can reveal on this line. It isn't secure."
"Cut the shit."
"Doctor Weston, I'm not trying to pull a fast one on you. A team that can find a cure for cancer can find a cure for the epidemic that will spread to everyone."
"I'm supposed to trust a nameless man on some whim?"
"My name is JT Hanson. I was the photographer at the scene. I know far more than you do, but you won't understand until I know I can trust you. You will receive a package shortly, in there you will find two secure phones. We'll be in touch."
And he hung up. I stared at the phone, dumbfounded. Toby took the phone from my hand and hung it up. "What the hell was that about?"
"Some headcase thinks the dead bodies are apart of an epidemic. He said he's sending some secure phones. He thinks we can cure some virus. I mean, all we have are dead bodies with little or no blood. It doesn't mean there is an epidemic."
"And how does he know this?"
I shook my head. "He claims he was the photographer."
A polite knock sounded on the door. Toby opened the door to a man in a white lab coat, dark red hair and green eyes. He looked as though he was in his early thirties. He had a large envelope and handed it to Toby with a flourish.
"Compliments of JT," his voice had a hint of an Irish accent to it.
The man left with a nod and closed the door behind him. Toby opened the envelope and pulled out two sleek, black cell phones. He discarded the envelope to the ground and handed one of the phones to me.
"Crank?"
I drew in a deep breath and shook my head. "I don't know what to think anymore."