The Dane Commission (The Dane Chronicles)

by Dane, Max

  Ryan pulled into a long line of cars waiting for school to let out.

  Like clockwork the students appeared. Alex got in the car and described details of a confrontation involving some sort of lizard, a thermos and a girl from class. Still smiling, but not really hearing, Ryan headed home.

  That night there was much celebration at the Dane’s home.

  Even the border collie got a bone.

  Following two days of furious detail-management, Ryan found himself driving to work for the first time in months. Dressed in a recently cleaned suit, he arrived in the parking lot of the IntelliHealth tower. The sheer scope of the building was still impressive. Its overzealous proportions would probably always make people feel small, but today he didn’t care.

  He drove up to the gate leading to the parking garage, and was allowed entry after showing his identification chip. The interior was very dark, and the ramp spiraled down instead up. Surprised, he wondered suddenly how far the building might actually go down; the huge tower piercing deep below the earth as well as rising high above it.

  It was truly a marvel.

  After parking, he walked to the central core where the elevators were located.

  Another man waiting as well.

  The doors opened and once inside, he saw the gentleman wave his identification chip in front of the mirrored place where the buttons were usually found. And instantly the buttons appeared.

  Ryan noticed however, that only a few buttons seemed to appear; floors numbering 1, 3, 4, 18, and 82. The man selected one, and the elevator closed. At floor 18, the man departed without a word.

  The doors closed, leaving Ryan still slightly flustered with the elevator. Without any direction, the elevator took him appropriately to the 75th floor, where surprisingly, he was greeted by an enthusiastic Ms. Holmes.

  “Hello Mr. Dane, it’s so good to see you again!”

  “Good morning, it is very good to be here, Ms. Holmes is it?”

  “Yes, but you’re working here now, please call me Theresa.”

  “Ok, but call me Ryan,” he said smiling.

  “Well, Ryan, you have a lot of paperwork to fill out before getting started,” she said, “paperwork and scans.”

  “I have scans?” he asked.

  As they spoke Theresa led him through a maze of cubicle walls.

  “Yes, its policy for each new employee to be scanned and inoculated for anything we might come into contact with while here at the facility. It also provides a baseline for employee health which can be used for comparison should you be injured, or become ill.”

  Ryan wasn’t really sure about the need for that level of ‘intimacy’ with his employer. It must have shown on his face, because Theresa quickly said, “It doesn’t hurt, and it has actually helped a few of us who were long-timers with age-specific degenerative problems.”

  She added under her breath, “And a few that picked up things while they were on vacation.” She smiled and nodded at him as they rounded the corner.

  They arrived at a small, but reasonably clean-looking office. He noticed there was a small window on the far side.

  “Ryan, just wait here a bit and an HR person will be down to get you started shortly. If you need anything, you can use the phone on your desk to call me, just dial 001.”

  And with that she turned and left.

  Ryan performed a quick inventory of the room. A non-descript metal desk with two ‘visitor’ chairs in front, one lamp and two file cabinets. Not bad really, he had worked in worse places to be sure. Not exactly what he had on his previous job, but it would do.

  He stood and looked out the window.

  The window was small, but at 75 floors up, there were no other buildings blocking the way, and he could see across the city.

  The view was spectacular.

  Smiling, he thought this might work out pretty well. Returning to his desk, he opened his drawers to find the typical assortment of pens, highlighters, post-its, etc.

  Yes, this would do quite nicely.

  Within about half an hour, Ryan had been visited by just less than all of his new co-workers. He could barely remember any of their names, but the friendly people who came brought him not one, but two coffee cups, a handful of pencils and an extra light bulb for his lamp. It was refreshing to suddenly feel connected to a group again.

  A knock on his door frame revealed a man holding an armful of thick binders and smiling broadly.

  “Good morning Mr. Ryan Dane, I am Jon Schnell from the IntelliHealth Human Resources Office, and I would like to help you get oriented here at IntelliHealth.”

  The man walked in and set the stack of binders and documents on Ryan’s new desk. The stack swayed slightly, only to be caught and meticulously re-stacked by Mr. Schnell.

  “Thank you Mr. Schnell, I am very pleased to be here. How do we start?” said Ryan.

  “I always begin by giving a bit of history about IntelliHealth. I believe it’s good to first gain perspective on the reason why we’re all here,” he said. After shaking hands, Mr. Schnell sat down opposite Ryan, and with enthusiasm to spare he began describing IntelliHealth.

  “You see Ryan, to really understand where we are today, we must look back at the turn of the millennium. In the year 2000, the human genome was successfully mapped, but what did it mean? Research scientists of the time made a great ado over projects that held no real advancements. Research funds were mostly distributed by bureaucrats; men more interested in hiring big names than supporting younger, forward thinkers. Other projects were funded by corporations who spent most of their time changing existing drugs just enough to generate new patents, and new profits.

  “Basic research scientists were devalued and overshadowed by so-called ‘project-builders’. These were quasi-scientists who made careers by grouping names together, and going after the bureaucratic program funds. Lasting for 50 years, consuming billions of dollars and producing nothing new, many researchers became disillusioned and left the field.

  “Then about twenty-five years ago, Dr. Sid Frances assembled and led a group of young researchers in an effort to address their common frustration. They looked at the advances in physics, engineering and computer technology and agreed they should capitalize on these new tools to leverage real change in biotechnology. So Dr. Frances proposed a very ambitious undertaking, to design the ultimate research-support system. And with help from his friends, he set out to find the world’s best programmers to help.”

  Ryan shifted in his seat. It was obvious his new friend across the desk, had told this story many times. Some of this he already knew, but it was interesting to see how the company viewed itself. As far as he knew, there was no denying that IntelliHealth had upgraded the health of everyone on the planet. He reached for his coffee and took another sip.

  Mr. Schnell began again, “What parameters would suffice?”

  “They imagined their work occurring simultaneously around the world with access by scientists in every country. They needed to be able to hold and compare research data across the entire planet. This mechanism must be so accurate and efficient that queries, searches, comparisons, performing experiments, and adding or removing data sets could be done instantly, and from anywhere. Nothing on this scale had been attempted before.

  ”The work began and within a few years the SID program, or Scientific Intelligence Deployment program, was created. The program turned out to be more than a simple database manager. SID assisted our world’s scientists by running their experiments in automated labs day and night, providing accurate results for study and comparison around the clock. Researchers from around the world worked together seamlessly. For the first time in history, laboratories could define experiments that SID would perform, every hour of every day, in every country of the world. And the results were stunning.

  “Not long after, they decided it would be beneficial to treat patients in the very same facilities, thereby adding patient data directly to the research. They learned however, th
at hospitals combined with research laboratories would prove to be a vastly complex undertaking. Oversight was necessary to coordinate the patients, staff, doctors, researchers and infrastructure. Dr. Frances and his group brought their ideas to the public, and with the resources of the world’s countries supporting them, IntelliHealth was created. Facilities just like this one, were built for the singular purpose of helping all mankind.”

  Schnell raised his hands and motioned at the walls around them.

  “At first facilities like ours were only found in the world’s largest countries, but today they can be found in most cities. And inside each IntelliHealth Facility, our world’s top research scientists have access to patient data, biological samples, and research from every IntelliHealth laboratory and hospital in the world. And in every Facility, our professors, researchers and students have the support and computing power of the SID program.

  “Since then IntelliHealth has effectively isolated and cured many of the diseases and cellular disorders of the 21st century. Lifetimes have been extended, and the common welfare of humanity has been served.”

  Mr. Schnell paused, smiling broadly.

  Ryan wondered if he was going to ask for a donation.

  He would have paid too; the pitch was that good.

  ”Well that’s our story, Ryan. Now, I’m interested in hearing yours.”

  It had been years since Ryan had been through the first-day orientation. For the next several hours, Ryan filled out work forms. Human resource forms, insurance forms, emergency contact forms, legal forms; it seemed to go on and on. They placed a lot of emphasis on the legal ones, indicating that he would not reveal any secrets for the profit or gain of other companies without approved signatures from offices he didn’t know, and people he’d probably never meet.

  It was painful.

  But looking back on his last six months at home, he happily signed it all.

  Later that afternoon, Schnell returned to say that Ryan should go ahead and leave for the day. Schnell went on to remind him that tomorrow there would be many physicals and scans, and that he should wear appropriate, comfortable clothing.

  Looking forward to going home, Ryan shook his hand and bid Schnell a good day. Ryan gathered his papers into his leather satchel, and rose to leave.

  As he made his way back towards the elevators, he saw Theresa waving goodbye. He nodded and waved back. Then he remembered that he still didn’t understand how the elevators worked. He made his way around the cubicle walls, and found Theresa standing at the copier putting some forms together.

  “Hi, Ryan headed home?”

  Feeling a little embarrassed, he asked, “Yes, Mr. Schnell has wrapped up my first day.”

  ”Did he tell you the story about the beginning of IntelliHealth?” she said.

  “Yes, he did. He really did,” said Ryan laughing a little.

  “We can usually hear him all the way out here, when hits the ending. He really likes telling it,” she said laughing with him.

  “Actually, I have a question. Theresa, I know that elevators generally move people up and down, but where are the buttons, and how does that one know where to take me?”

  “Oh, sure, I’m sorry, someone should’ve explained. All IntelliHealth Facilities are fully automated. The building automatically takes your picture when you first come inside. If you are not an employee, the guards at the front desk, tell the building-monitoring program which floor you should have access to. After that, the building monitor uses facial recognition to move you up and down appropriately.”

  “Now that you are employed, you can wave your ID chip at the touch panel, and the floors assigned to you, will become available.”

  She put down her work, and said “Come on, let's try it together.”

  They walked across the floor to the elevators.

  “Why only the assigned floors?”

  “Well, there are many different patient and research floors here as well, and they don’t want us walking in on something dangerous.”

  They arrived and the elevator doors opened as if on cue.

  ”Okay, here we are, I’ll show you my chip first.”

  Theresa waved her identification chip at the mirrored finish inside the elevator, and the buttons 1, 18, 75 and 76 appeared. Then she said, “Ok, now yours.”

  Ryan waved his ID chip in the air in the same general spot and like magic, the numbers 1, 18, 75, 76, and 82 appeared.

  ”See, you also have access to 82, that’s where Dorothy Allen works. Also, you should know 18 is where the cafeterias and relaxation areas are, 75 is of course our floor, 76 is also Information Services, but that’s where you will find our boss Mr. James. If you ever need access to another floor, you can make a request to your supervisor.”

  She smiled, ”Any questions?”

  “Nope, I’ve got it; thanks Theresa,” he said feeling very pleased, “See you tomorrow.”

  The doors closed, and another motionless trip surprised him again when the doors opened on the garage level. It even knew the level where he parked that morning.

  ’Wow,’ he thought, ‘this place is incredible.’

  Driving home, he realized he felt better than he had in years.

  The company he’d hired into was a techno marvel, and the people seemed genuinely friendly. He wasn’t really excited about all of the medical stuff waiting for him tomorrow, but didn’t really mind it either.

  That night, Jean and Alex wanted to hear all about his first day.

  As they sat down to dinner, he told them about his new office, the super-smart elevators and the story Schnell told him about IntelliHealth. Jean said she knew a lot of the company history. She was surprised about the scanning scheduled for tomorrow, and wanted to hear more about it after they were finished. Alex was more interested in the elevators.

  That night Jean told him how happy she was that he was starting over again, and said he’d be back in his groove very soon. She had been very supportive of him during his ‘sabbatical’ but was visibly relieved that he was back at work again.

  So was he for that matter.

  Lying in bed, Ryan slept soundly, and couldn’t remember his dreams at all.

  “Does it matter what I eat or drink when I have the scans later?”

  It was the next morning; Ryan was getting ready for work, and wanting very much to eat something for breakfast. She looked at him as he held up a bagel in one hand and a banana in the other.

  “No, it won’t make any difference to the scan results, but that banana looks better on your waist,” she said as she turned away.

  “Kill-joy,” he said under his breath. He ate the banana, looked over his shoulder and ate the pastry too.

  He finished getting ready, and after dropping Alex at school, he headed to work.

  After parking his car, he looked across the garage at the enigmatic elevator. Theresa’s advice would put him in charge today. Ryan gathered his things, and walked confidently up to the elevator. He stepped inside and reached in his pocket for his ID chip. But, before he could pull it out, the doors closed, and he had another vibration-less, motion-free, ride to the 75th floor.

  Disappointed, he couldn’t help but feel as though he‘d just lost some sort of race.

  “You may have won this time,” he said under his breath, “but the next one is mine.”

  Ryan stepped out of his shiny-mirrored adversary, and onto his new work floor. Everywhere he could see all people starting their day.

  He smiled.

  Heading for his office, he arrived to find the door locked. On a whim he waved his ID chip over the lock and the door opened.

  ‘ Technology one, Humans one,’ he thought.

  Wondering where he could find some coffee, he heard a knock on the door, followed by a question. “Mr. Ryan Dane?” He looked up and saw a young looking man dressed in a jumpsuit, and white lab coat in the doorway.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Mr. Dane, you can call me Josh; today I am your sc
anner-processor, and you will be the man-in-the-can. If you would, please bring your things, and come with me.”

  Ryan turned and followed Josh to the elevator where Josh waved his chip, and selected floor 101.

  “Scanning hardware is available all around the building, but my office is on 101, so that’s where we’ll be today. When we’re done, you can go home, that’s why I asked you to go ahead and bring your things.”

  The doors opened, and they stepped out into a dimly lit, mostly open area. It was quiet and the air was just a little on the cold side. Josh glanced at his watch and began walking quickly across the floor.

  ”We’re running just a bit late, please follow me.”

  Ryan followed him through another maze of corridors.

  “How long will this take, Josh?”

  “Unless there is something special about you, we should be done by lunch time.”

  “I thought the new scanners were very fast,” Ryan asked, “why will it take so long?”

  “Well,” Josh replied without slowing down, “it’s not the technology that takes the time. The scanner we’ll use today is called an FPA-NPosE, which stands for Fast Particle Array-Neutrino/Positron Emission model. It can scan your entire body, and provide a detailed analysis of your complete circulatory system in about 60 seconds.”