by S. E. Sasaki
“No,” Dr. Cech said firmly, shaking his head. “I knew nothing about this, either, Grace. I am as shocked as you! He just walked in a few moments before you did, and started ordering me around, as usual. I have never been so happy to be verbally abused in my entire life. This wonderful miracle is all Bud’s doing!”
“Who you see before you, Dr. Grace, is, indeed, the Great—and may I also add younger and more handsome—Dr. Hiro Al-Fadi,” Dr. Al-Fadi said. “The Great One is back! Bud cloned my body from the DNA samples taken on the day of the memory printing—how he got access to that information, he is not saying—and then he had my body undergo accelerated growth in the vat tanks.
“Under Bud’s constant and careful supervision, my splendid and virile—and did I say ‘extremely handsome’?—body grew until it was ready to accept my most impressive and massive memprint data which, oddly enough, Bud also mysteriously happened to have. I shall have to get the truth from my protégé regarding this, after the surgery is completed.
“My unique and magnificent memprint was then uploaded into my unique and magnificent brain yesterday and, as you can see, you have your unique and—may I humbly admit—very modest Dr. Al-Fadi back, younger and therefore more incredible than ever!”
“ . . .Whether we really wanted the conceited, pompous, bag-of-wind or not,” Dr. Cech quipped. “Of course, his body is a lot younger than the version you knew, Grace. Hiro here still has hair, in the right places instead of coming out his nose and ears. And he doesn’t smell as bad as he used to, either, but his memory is only intact right up until the time the memprint was taken. He has no memory whatsoever of the viral epidemic, the quarantine, the attack on himself, or anything else, which is probably for the best.
“Unbeknownst to anyone, other than the station AI, Bud started directing and supervising the accelerated growth of Hiro’s body almost the moment after he was discovered dead in his cryopod,” Dr. Cech said. “And now, here Hiro is. As you can see, he is his usual irascible, insulting, irritating, immodest, egotistical self. He appears to be normal . . . except for the alleged hair.
“And now, I keep asking myself, ‘Why? Why, Dejan? Why were you so upset, when he was gone? You were finally rid of the miserable old coot and yet you mourned and wished he was back. Are you crazy?’”
“Why you pretentious impostor!” Hiro Al-Fadi spat. “You had nothing to do with bringing me back. Bud did it all himself. And even if you had, I would not have thanked you,” the excitable surgeon exclaimed.
“Why not, you ungrateful wretch?”
“Because you would have put me back in the same old body. You would not have thought of putting me back in a body that looked like Bud’s. A true friend would have put my magnificent mind into the body of a god, an Adonis, an Apollo, where it truly belongs. But no, you would have maliciously put me back into this little body that is going to go bald very soon. I have to go through that trauma all over again, you lousy excuse for a friend. Friend? Hah! You are my penance. My albatross!”
Dr. Cech burst out laughing.
Dr. Al-Fadi stopped, mid-tirade, and glared at the anesthetist.
“Oh, welcome back, Hiro! How we have all missed you, even though you did not know it, and probably won’t believe it. I know I am going to regret saying this, and I will deny it until I am blue in the face, from this day forth, but I am astonished at how glad I am to have your irritating voice address my ears once more, old friend.”
“I am not your old friend, any more, Dr. Cech. I am your younger, more handsome, more energetic and more coifed friend, and don’t you forget it!”
Grace started laughing and she laughed until she cried.
Bud stared at Grace with a worried look on his face. Grace went up and hugged the android, not caring about the sterility for once. They could change into new gowns, as far as she was concerned.
“Oh, thank you, Bud,” she whispered into his ear. “You are a miracle worker.”
Bud looked at Grace with shocked eyes.
“Am I forgiven?” he asked, hesitantly.
“More than forgiven,” she said, and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “There was never anything to forgive.”
Bud’s face looked puzzled, as he tried to work those two statements out.
Dr. Al-Fadi looked around at Bud and Grace.
“WHAT IN SPACE ARE YOU TWO DOING?” shrieked Dr. Al-Fadi. “In my OR of all places! Dr. Grace, get your hands off my android! SAMM-E 777 . . . I mean Bud . . . how dare you touch Dr. Grace like that!? HAVE THE TWO OF YOU GONE TOTALLY INSANE? Have you no decency? This . . . this OR is a place of sterility and . . . and sanctity . . . and integrity! This patient is thawing . . . and I AM WAITING!
“I refuse to have this form of unprofessional behavior in my OR!” Dr. Al-Fadi screamed, stomping his little feet and waggling his head around. His eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his skull.
“What in space went on when my back was turned, anyway?”
Dr. Al-Fadi stared in outrage at all of their smiling eyes above their surgical masks and he listened to their roaring laughter with annoyance. Then he noticed the tears in all of their eyes—Bud had tears?—he would have to investigate this later, too. He began to feel deep satisfaction. They had obviously been helpless without him.
They had truly missed the Great One!
But of course they would have! Why, for one second, should he have doubted that? He frowned and then stamped his foot a second time.
“Well, what are you all staring at? Stop gawking. Stop lolly-gagging. Let’s get to work!”
Epilogue
His fury knew no bounds.
That the dim-witted surgical fellow, the meddling station AI, and that insufferable android had all conspired to strip him of his medical license—or at least attempt to do so—was unforgivable. It could not go unpunished. No one could take his medical license away!
Had he not invented the mind-to-mind link that was now used throughout the Union of Solar Systems to treat trauma? Had he not spent years of his life on the Nelson Mandela Medical Space Station, perfecting the techniques that would revolutionize psychiatric therapy? What had Dr. Grace Lord and her android done?
Treated a virus! Hardly any reason for acclaim.
No one would believe their accusations. They were nobodies! They lacked his genius, his foresight, his brilliance. No one would miss them, if they were suddenly disposed of! Without their testimony, who would believe the charges? Who would believe the great Dr. Jeffrey Nestor would be capable of such infamy, as they claimed in their accusations.
No one.
All he had to do was get rid of them, that pathetic Grace Lord and her sidekick android, SAMM-E 777. It would be simple. He had the manpower, or should he say, ‘woman-power’ to achieve his aims. So many of his female patients were primed to carry out his every command, without question, without hesitation.
He had really made only one error.
When he was trying to determine if he could force a patient to kill, he should not have chosen that tiger captain to kill that useless Grace Lord. The captain, although a trained killer out in the field, had not been a patient long enough to be completely under his command. And the captain had been a male sent to attack and kill a female, which may also have made a difference.
If he had used one of his female subjects, he was sure he would have successfully achieved his goal of killing the conceited, haughty Grace Lord, thereby furthering his research into mind control and its boundaries and limitations. Well, even the failure with the tiger captain was a result; an unfortunate failure, but an interesting mistake, never to be repeated.
He would be much more careful next time. There would be no more mistakes or errors in judgement. Dr. Grace Lord had to die and her stupid android had to be destroyed. He would not rest until this was achieved. They had tried to sully his reputation, after all. That was unforgivable!
He had some planning to do, some details to work out, and then he would be coming back to the
space station to exact his revenge.
No one made a fool of Dr. Jeffrey Nestor.
No one.
THE END
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my wonderful husband, David Alan Sherrington, for being a fantastic advance reader, reading everything I write multiple times, and being so supportive through this entire process. I could not have done any of it, without his encouragement, support, enthusiasm, and love. Thank you to my fantastic children, Daniel and Christine, who are such great inspirations to me, every minute, every hour, every day. Their indomitable courage, optimism, and love continually fill me with happiness and pride. Their strength and bravery inspire me to try harder. Their help and understanding with my projects have been invaluable. I love you all more than you can imagine. Thank you for all your help and for being you!
Thank you also to Diane F. Martin and Ian C. Esslemont for comments on the early manuscript.
Thank you to Lauren Sasaki for all things legal. A huge thank you to Bre Boyce of Friesen Press for her invaluable assistance in getting this book to final publication and to Daemon Moore for hooking me up with Ms. Boyce. Could not have done it without you, Bre!
An enormous thank you goes to Edward J. Greenwood, for all of his advice, his comments regarding the completed manuscript, his encouragement, his wealth of information, his wisdom, his friendship, and his generosity with his time. Oh, and for his unique sense of humor that always keeps me laughing!
Last but not least, an enormous ‘thank you’ goes out to all of the staff of the Guelph General Hospital in Guelph Ontario, Canada, especially the Surgery Department, where I give assistance, wherever I can. A finer group of dedicated and devoted health care workers—including surgeons, gynecologists, anesthetists, surgical assistants, nurses (especially the operating room and recovery room nurses!), porters, secretaries, volunteers, and associate staff —I cannot imagine. I feel very fortunate to have gotten to know you all. It has been an honor and a privilege to be able to work with you and see how you save lives, every single day, in the real world.
This book is a tribute to you.
I salute you all.
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