Through the Wires

by Amy English

  “Frank wait!” he shouted, as he tried catching up with him. Frank turned around. “That was a bold move. And the thing is, I would have shared the success. It’s too bad you don’t pay attention to your employees. I could have gone solo a long time ago. I could have gone on my own. Worked from home. Developed patents for whatever I created. I never needed Silverfish. I was here because of my admiration for all the scientist we have. My admiration for what I thought was the smartest man in the world. You are so consumed with money that you’re missing one vital component of human character. Humility. A trait I was unaware you didn’t possess. You take care. Oh, and another thing… Stay away from my kid. Even in the virtual world. That kinda thing could get you hurt. I don’t play about mine. You gentleman have a nice evening.”

  George stood defeated before he could even discover what had been done. Frank’s confidence told him one thing. That Espanys was locked down. Secretly copywritten without anyone knowledge and without use of Silverfishes resources. An expensive copyright that would have taken some skill and knowledge to obtain. Specifications for technological products can be tricky. One needs to prove that it is unique and not a reproduction of something already created. A lengthy and expensive process.

  He underestimated Frank Wilson. A humble yet genius man who seemed to preoccupied to deal with the minor details. A man he believed he had complete control over. “This was a bad move. He had already secured it. He believed in it long before we did. And when we didn’t get on board, he went through the channels without us. You should have seen this coming Jeff,” he said with a stern look. Mr. Stallings walked away. His hands in his pockets. It was too huge of a risk to secure Espanys. It could destroy his reputation and he could end up in a costly lawsuit. George decided against pursuing the rights.

  “Why did you chase his kid. I’m not at fault. And we could have saved this. He came here angry because he knew one of us chased his kid. There was no bargaining after that. No talks. He was done. Why did you go that far? I’m going home. See you in the morning,” Jeff said, as he walked past George. He was disappointed. He despised Frank. He was jealous over his work. Over his mind that worked on a level not seen since Einstein. His ability to create things that no one else could, was amazing. And they were not paying him his worth. Something Jeff never understood. If it were him, he would have negotiated money that would have made him a very wealthy man.

  And so, he harbored resentment at not having the abilities himself, even though he tried. He settled into sales because he couldn’t cut it as a scientist. His creations were weak and not profitable. And it burned him to watch as Frank rose quickly. But even so, he would have never tried to bring him harm or try anything with his child. It was behavior that bordered on despicable and appalling. George watched as Jeff left. His regret consumed him. But the damage was done.

  George Stallings sat in his office. He prepared for a meeting with his scientist and engineers. An important meeting about the future of the company. He had question to answer about Frank Wilson. Several employees were disappointed. Frank had helped them work out the kinks in their own projects. And he never asked to be included on the rights of their work. George stood up. “Sir. Everyone is in attendance,” his secretary June announced. “I’ll be right there.”

  George was dressed impeccably. His signature navy suits with bright ties and handkerchiefs were fitting of a man who took no prisoners. His horns now showing. He had managed to conceal his hunger. His greed always neatly tucked in his pocket. He wondered if Jeff was in attendance. He had been absent the last few days. A fact that didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. Jeff wasn’t all that valuable. He could do without him.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, as he entered the conference room. He glanced around. Jeff Brenner was not among the attendees. George wondered about his absence. He was the only one who knew what had happened. He needed Jeff on board. A conversation backed with money would help alleviate any issues with Jeff.

  George walked to the front of the large conference table. The puzzled and concerned looks on everyone’s face made the fact that he needed to address the elephant in the room, a stark reality.

  “Thanks for taking the time to attend. I know some of you were on vacation and only came here to be a part of this very important meeting. Before we begin, I want to address the events that happened and the sudden departure of Frank Wilson. I want to tell you before rumor and speculation turn this into anything other than what it is. Frank Wilson decided to part ways despite my pleas that he stay and work through any disagreements,” he said as he looked his employees in their eyes. George Stalling was good at manipulating. Good at lying. And even better at covering up his bad business practices.

  He intertwined his hands and paused, as he continued his speech;

  “As you know, we shelved Espanys. Something Frank refused to accept. Espanys was originally my idea and I took specifications to Frank to have him take the idea to the next level. The reason I was so comfortable scrapping it for now. As you know, we here at Silverfish support all inventions but anything deemed not safe or not unique enough, must be shelved. It was difficult to get copyrights for Espanys and the technology would be expensive to test. There was an inherent danger in doing so. But I promise that we will not give up on the technology. I will reassign the work to someone I can trust in its execution and maybe we can create something unique enough to patent.”

  George continued to speak on the flaws of Espanys as the people in attendance listened. He was confident he had their trust. Soon a static noise resonated over the speakers throughout the office. Soon a voice was heard. Everyone looked at each other as they tried to figure out what and where the sound was coming from. It was Franks voice. The scientist all looked around. Shocked at what was being said;

  That was a bold move. And the thing is, I would have shared the success. It’s too bad you don’t pay attention to your employees. I could have gone solo a long time ago. I could have gone on my own. Worked from home. Developed patents for whatever I created. I never needed Silverfish. I was here because of my admiration for all the scientist we have. My admiration for what I thought was the smartest man in the world. You are so consumed with money that you’re missing one vital component of human character. Humility. A trait I was unaware you didn’t possess.

  Soon static was heard and more of the conversation from that day played. This time George’s distinct and recognized voice could be heard. And the message was loud and clear;

  This was a bad move. He had already secured it. He believed in it long before we did. And when we didn’t get on board, he went through the channels without us. You should have seen this coming.

  One by one, the scientist stood up and exited the conference room. George stood mute. Shocked. Someone had piped the entire conversation into their sound system and the entire office heard the conversation. George dropped his head. The shame overwhelming. He had just lost an entire group of some of the best engineers and scientist their industry had.

  Peggy Temple stood at the window. The look on her face told it all. She looked furious. George stared at her. He wondered her involvement. Peggy looked him deeply in his eyes. She couldn’t believe her own ears that night. The night Dylan ran to her house and told her what happened. The night she told him she would go to Silverfish and see what was going on. She promised him things would be fine. She needed Frank Wilson. She needed Espanys.

  Peggy drove to Silverfish that night. Armed with her phone and a small recorder designed to pick up the lowest frequencies and make any audio more clearer. She looked at Mr. Stallings and shook her head. His greed had consumed him. He had destroyed unnecessarily. And he went after what he wanted in a most wicked way. Dylan told her about being chased. About being pushed off of a building. The gig was up. He was losing her too. But not before she would aid in protecting a man and his machine. Not before she would secure something her son would need. He could still feel his legs. And Peggy would die
to save her son. To give him what he needed to feel whole again. She turned and looked back. It was over for him. For Silverfish. She would see to it.

  Seven

  Possibilities

  F

  rank had a new mission. He needed to figure out the speed, strength and wavelength of electrical activity the game was producing, that was resulting in the body’s ability to repair. He wanted to figure out if the electrical impulses had reawakened or renewed cells and axions, that were no longer viable. Or was the impulses working temporarily, for the moment as long as the user continued to log on.

  He had to see if this was a permanent or temporary fix. Frank examined his sons finger every day for weeks. He held off on returning the game to Josh until he could figure out what was going on with the body’s responses to Espanys. Peggy had a handicapped son who had no real outside activities that he loved doing and he was feeling left out. Frank felt bad for her. He understood the desperation she must have felt to resort to stealing the unit. But with this discovery, came responsibility. Frank wanted answers first. Then he would allow them to play.

  He spoke with Peggy and she wept as she apologized for taking the system. She told him that Josh had experienced sensation in his legs. That he described an itchy feeling. She believed he was imagining it. But she expressed desire to pay for it. That the game had her son happy. The happiest she had seen him in years.

  Frank told Peggy Josh may be accurate in what he was expressing. He told her that he suspected the system was repairing nerves. Peggy wasn’t sure the information could be trusted. There was no way what he was saying was possible.

  “No Frank. Josh is just desperate. The game is not doing anything to him,” she said. “I’m not so sure Peggy. Dylan is also experiencing some healing on a finger that he hurt a long time ago. Let me check things out. Test it,” he said.

  Peggy gasped at the revelation. If that were true, her son would have a chance at a real life. “Oh Frank. Are you serious? You think the game can repair his damaged nerves?” she asked. Frank looked away. He didn’t want her to get her hopes up. It could be something that didn’t last. Or worse, create more problems. “I don’t know Peggy. I need to test the theory.”

  Frank told Peggy to give him time to do research and check the results. He told her to give him a year. That he would be working intensely on it. He promised he would try to get her the game back to her soon. And he promised he wouldn’t stop until he could help. Even if it meant allowing one unit to be used before approval, allowing Josh to be the only other player besides Dylan, to use the unit. But he told Peggy he would need to monitor Josh’s progress. That he would need to take extensive notes and that she would need to take him to regular doctors’ visits. Peggy agreed. And Frank advised of outsiders knowing. That he could be shut down by the government since it was something that involved minors. Only adults could consent to be part of an experiment. Frank expressed the desire to wait until the boys were grown men but Peggy burst in tears.

  “Frank please. I take full responsibility. I will not say a word. Nothing is wrong with him. He has already been to the doctor for a full examination. He is fine. Please,” she pleaded. Frank relented. “Ok. But please…If you ever notice anything, you must tell me. I still am not prepared to give it to you until next year. I need that much time to know for sure.”.

  Every day, for weeks, Dylan had to report to his father and be examined while his father took extensive notes and gather data. Dylan wasn’t allowed to use the system while he was being analyzed. He was put on a strict schedule of dinner, time in Espanys and then an examination. He followed the regimen exactly. He came home from school, wait for his father and then had his finger, eyes and motor skills checked before he could do anything or go anywhere. Every day the same thing, until one Sunday morning, three weeks later.

  Dylan woke up on a Sunday and stretched his arms as he rose and looked out his window at the beautiful sunny day that awaited him. He had spoken with his friends Emily and Peter the night before and planned on meeting up with them later for soda’s and fries. He reached for his phone and instantly noticed that his finger felt duller. He still had some feeling in it but it was much less feeling than before. He tried making a fist and his index finger curled but not all the way. Dylan’s eyes got big. He jumped up and ran into his fathers’ room. Frank was still asleep when Dylan shook him.

  “Dad. Dad. Wake up. Something’s happening with my finger,” he blurted. Frank rose quickly and looked at it. “What? How does it feel?” he asked. “It’s not the same. The feeling seems to be fading some. And I can’t move it like I could before. I can still move it, but its mot like it was,” he replied, looking worried and making a fist in his father’s face to demonstrate some of the loss of motion. His father stared at the wall. He wondered what was happening. “It’s reverting back to its original state. But why? Frank began theorizing and staring at the wall as he talked about the possibilities. He had come up with a hypothesis. And now he had proven it.

  Frank worked tirelessly on the game. He spent long hours in his home laboratory reworking the control. He added more of his specially enhanced cables and rods and installed a new ear bulb. He tested the unit for safety then made more adjustments before settling on his final changes. Claire was taking breakfast, lunch and dinner to him. She left it on a table for her busy husband to eat at his convenience. She had gotten use to not sleeping with him. He was taking naps on the couch in between his work. Soon he emerged from the basement. Dylan and Claire were sitting in the living room watching television and looked over at him. Frank nodded and Claire rose to kiss him.

  “Is everything alright?” she asked. “Yes. It is now,” he said. Dylan rose and hugged his father. “You think it’s better now?” he asked. “Yes. I want you to try it out. Report everyday as before. I’m tired. I’m going to bed,” he said. Claire smiled and looked at Dylan. Frank had been immersed in his work for weeks. They hoped he was done. They hoped Espanys was perfected.

  Frank gave the game back and let Dylan enter the virtual world. He asked Dylan to log in every day for ten minutes, and every day after school, Dylan logged in. Every day for a week. While at school he would hand out with his friends, Josh included and they waited for him to update what was going on with the game. Josh too had noticed that the feeling in his legs was fading and so he was desperately waiting on Dylan’s father to figure something out. Everyone was rooting for Josh to get better. They hoped Frank would make some discovery and invent something for Josh.

  After a few weeks, Dylan’s finger had regained the strength and motion. Frank had a theory that the process was not complete and had got halted before the repair was complete. Now he would have to watch his son over the next several years then at some point cease the use of the game to see if the loss of feeling and motion returned. It was worth it. Some return of feeling meant a step in the right direction.

  “I have good news. I have tweaked the game. It works. And yes, it heals. What Josh had been experiencing was nothing short of a miracle. And Dylan had some damaged nerves that repaired as well. Somehow the impulses connect in a way that it awakens the signals. The body recognizes it as alive and start the repair process all over. Scars tissues are innervated and new nerve cells are created inside the soft tissue. I didn’t design it to do that. I guess it is a side affect of the mechanism of using one’s electrical impulses,” he said. Peggy stood motionless. Her mouth slightly ajar. She wasn’t hearing Frank correctly. Claire stood beside him. They were their to deliver the news.

  “What?” she said, a tear falling from her eye. She took a step back. If this was some joke, it was cruel. “It heals Peggy. It heals,” Claire repeated. Peggy put her hands over her face and burst into tears. Claire hugged her and spoke to her. Woman to woman. She knew it had to be hard to watch her son want something he once had and had lost due to injury. “He is going to be fine. Science has caught up to him. And Frank will be here to guide him along the way,” she said. Peggy held Cl
aire tight. This was all she ever wanted. Nothing was more important than her only child. “Thank you so much Frank. This is the answer to a prayer. This is no miracle. This was a direct answer from a higher power.”

  “I want you to take this console and have Josh play for at least an hour a day. I need you to keep me informed on his progress. I need you to keep this between us. I cannot start giving unit to others who wish to be healed. Not until I know it works and everything is fine,” he said. Peggy took the console. “We are indebted to you. This is so gracious. I don’t know what to say,” she said, wiping her face. She had faith in it. Josh was still able to feel his legs. Able to feel pressure and some pain. She had faith he would walk again.

  Dylan played the game every day for a year, visiting with Emily and Josh and keeping them informed on his improvements. After a year, Dylan stopped playing and was again, examined, every day by his father. Six months later, Dylan kept the feeling and use of his finger and his father noted the time that it took for the healing process to be complete.

  Claire and Frank waved at Peggy as she walked to her car, a coffee mug in her hand. She was the new CFO of McGregor Industries. A new technology company that was ran by a young, up and coming scientist. He was only thirty years old but Peggy had faith in him. He reminded her of Frank. Their families had become close. Dylan and Emily visited with Josh and included him when they hung out. Peggy was grateful. And Frank couldn’t thank her enough for recording his conversation that day. It helped him in his case against Silverfish.