by Rey, Solomon
Olivia nodded apprehensively. What is he going to do to her, she thought, He’s going to cut her, I know it. “Dad, please don’t tell me you’re going to hurt her. If you are, I don’t want to be here.”
“Don’t worry honey. She’ll be fine. I promise,” he said with a grin. She trusted her father completely, he had never lied to her before, he wasn’t about to start now.
Olivia studied Minnie, noticing she was considerably larger than she had been. Maybe, that’s what he’s going to show us, she thought, then why does he need a scalpel, idiot.
He reached in the cage, finding it difficult to grab her. She was really fast, cornering her was arduous.
“See! You should have named her Speedy,” Derek said.
“Shut up!” Olivia said.
It took a few moments, but he finally succeeded. He held Minnie in one hand and the scalpel in the other.
“Watch carefully and don’t worry, she won’t be hurt.” He held the scalpel firmly, pressing the blade against its skin as the three bystanders held their breath. Normally, a surgical knife would slice through skin like it were butter, but nothing happened. There were no marks at all.
He pressed again, this time hard enough to turn his knuckles white. The three exhaled simultaneously and began to relax. The blade eventually cut through Minnie’s skin. She squirmed and squeaked, but there was no blood. He made the incision a few centimeters long. They stared, surprised she wasn’t bleeding.
“Nothing’s happening,” Olivia said staring.
“What are we looking at, Richard,” Donna asked confused.
“Just watch!” They gazed and waited patiently, still nothing was happening.
“There’s noth−,” Derek became speechless, eyes widening. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Oh…My…God!” Olivia said in amazement. She felt her heart thump, thump, thumping in her chest. This was most exciting thing she had ever seen.
The incision closed slowly at each end. Within seconds it had sealed itself completely without any evidence of being sliced open. No redness, swelling or scars.
Richard smiled proudly, scanning his audience’s faces for their reaction. They stood with their mouth’s gaping.
Donna lost all strength in her legs, quickly sitting. Olivia and Derek turned to each other, smiling.
“That was awesome!” Olivia exclaimed.
“Do it again!” Derek said eagerly.
“Derek, even though she healed completely, I’m not sure how much pain she felt. It would be too cruel to cut her open solely for amusement purposes.”
“I guess you’re right,” he said with obvious disappointment.
Olivia slugged Derek playfully in his shoulder, “Yeah, don’t be cruel.”
“And you are sure Minnie is completely fine?” Donna asked Richard.
“I’m positive!” Richard said confidently.
“But Dad, why was it so hard to cut her skin? It should have gone right through.”
“It’s all part of my research,” he said, “Sit down and I’ll do my best to explain everything.” He motioned for the two teenagers to sit.
Donna’s head was reeling. What she had just witnessed, prior to this moment, would have been considered a miracle. Now, it was reality. Derek and Olivia were both laughing, “How cool was that!”
“For the past few years, I’ve been working with recombinant Deoxyribonucleic Acid in hopes of reinforcing the immune system in humans. I incorporated Deoxyribonucleic Acid chromosomes from other species with little to no luck,” he said matter-of-factly, “Then I considered extremely complex molecules, that typically would contain a protein coat surrounding an RNA or DNA case of genetic material, but no semipermeable material,” he stared at their blank faces.
“Uh…Dad, can you please give that to us in English?” Olivia said seriously.
“I didn’t know you could speak French. That was French you were speaking, right,” Derek said jokingly.
“Derek Roman,” Donna snapped.
“What? I’m just saying,” he said smiling at Olivia. She smiled back.
“Richard, can you give it to us in layman terms?” Donna requested.
“Okay, let me try to explain it so you guys can understand it better,” he said, “You all know I was trying to find a way to make our bodies more resilient to diseases,” he waited for an answer.
“Yes,” they said simultaneously.
“By accident, I stumbled on a way to strengthen our bodies at the molecular level,” he said watching their eyes gloss over. “It appears I lost you again.”
“I’m sorry, Richard, but when you start talking about molecular this or that, you lose me,” Donna said.
“I agree with Mom.”
“Me too!”
“Okay, let me try again,” he said, “You all have seen pictures or images of DNA strands right,” they nodded, “A DNA strand contains every piece of hereditary information. It holds all the characteristics of each human. It determines hair and skin colors, bone density, muscular strength and most importantly, your resilience to diseases. There are many more, but I don’t want to bore you with that information. Do you follow so far?”
“I think so,” Donna said.
“I get it,” Olivia said.
“Well, it’s no longer French, now it’s more like Spanish,” Derek joked.
“Derek!” this came from Olivia.
“Sorry,” he said, “I get it.”
Richard continued, “The DNA strand is broken down into chromosomes. Each chromosome adds the details which define us, our strengths and weaknesses. Well, I genetically engineered chromosomes! I took a very aggressive virus fused it with human chromosome and altered it in such a way that when it is introduced into the human body, it attacks the DNA strand.
“Well, that doesn’t sound good,” Derek said.
“Let him finish,” Olivia snapped.
“Anyway, it immediately attacks each chromosome individually by surrounding it, replicating it and finally replacing it. In the process of replicating the chromosomes, it identifies each chromosome’s weakness, then enhances them, leaving in its place, a stronger, much more resilient one,” Richard said with pride.
“Why do you call it Chromosome‘S’,” Olivia inquired.
“The ‘s’ stands for supplant, which means to replace by force. I believe the word is appropriate.”
“When you say strengthens the Chromosome, what do you mean? In which way?” Donna asked.
“Well like with Minnie there,” he said glancing toward the cage, “Her skeleton is now much more dense than before, along with muscle mass and skin tissue. Her immune system now works twenty times faster than normal. Her strength has increased ten times, along with hearing and sight. It’s truly amazing, but I can’t really see the extent until it’s been administered to a human subject, then I’ll be able to chart it accurately.
“How soon will you be testing it on humans?” Donna asked.
“I’m a long way from human trials.”
“So Minnie won’t die−ever?” Olivia asked trying to grasp the significance of Chromosone‘S’.
“I can’t say, we will have to wait and see.”
“Have you told anyone else about this?” Donna asked. She understood the implications of what she had seen−it worried her.
“I emailed my findings to a colleague down at UC Santa Cruz. I haven’t heard anything back.”
“Instead of calling her Minnie Mouse, you should call her Mighty Mouse,” Derek said with a chuckle.
Everyone ignored Derek’s comment.
“Richard,” Donna started with a solemn tone, “I don’t know if it’s my place to say this or if I’m being overly concerned, but what you have done here is equal to a miracle. It’s the miracle cure the world has been waiting for. It will save millions of lives. It will change the world of medicine forever. This is not something the huge corporations will take lightly and the moment they get wind of it…they’ll do anyth
ing to get it.” she said, the concern on her face becoming more evident, “Then there’s the military and police applications…these scare me the most.”
“Why,” Olivia asked with genuine concern.
“The United States is becoming more and more like a police state. Do you guys remember Hitler?” she asked glancing at the two teenagers.
“Yeah, I do,” Olivia said.
“Of course, who could forget that psycho,” Derek said.
“Well, the Nazis had been given eminent power over all citizens, which meant they had the right to use extreme force whenever they deemed it necessary, without worry of penalty. They were sanctioned to be judged, jury and executioner.”
“What’s your point, Mom,” Derek asked.
Donna continued, “Our country is becoming more and more like Nazi-torn Germany. Our police officers, flippantly use the excuse, “I felt my life was in danger,’ which explains why he shot the unarmed man in the back or kicked the man in the face
three times after he surrendered. All of this is not new; it’s always been swept under the rug, because there was never any proof, but now that everyone has a cell phone, more and more of the abuse is coming to light.”
“But what does that all have to do with Chromosome‘S’?” Olivia inquired.
Richard took a chair and sat, impressed by Donna. He relished every time she spoke passionately. Her eyes would light up; her face would glow even more. He also saw the truth in what she was saying. He decided to relinquish the spotlight.
“You’ve heard the saying, ‘Absolute power, corrupts absolutely’ right?” They nodded. “Imagine a nation with a police force of super men and women. every person would fear them and rightfully so. There are some damn good cops out there, who became police officers to protect the people, but most become cops for two reasons—the money and the power. It frightens me to think how much quicker this country will evolve into a police state if the government gets a hold of it.” she paused, facing Richard, “I’m so sorry for raining on your parade. You’ve done a great thing here and I took it away by spouting off. I just want you to be careful, that’s all.”
Richard was ready to speak but was cut off.
“Yeah, Dad, I think she’s right. You need to be careful,” she said putting her hand on his, “It’s so exciting, but really scary at the same time.”
“I agree with Olivia, really scary. I’ve heard of that corporate espionage stuff. Spies kill for…like Viagra and things like that!”
Richard and Donna looked at each other, as they laughed hysterically.
“What…what’d I say?” Derek asked confused as he looked at Olivia. She shrugged in response, “I think its old age…I hear you lose your sanity as you get older.” She nodded.
“I appreciate your concern and it does have merit. I trust Steve Saunders, I’ve known him for many years, and I trust you three more than anyone else, so I think we’re safe,” Richard said confidently, “I can promise you this, I won’t be telling anyone else. Let’s go upstairs and start movie night!”
CHAPTER VII
“So what movies did you get?” Richard asked.
“We decided to make it ‘classic movie ‘night, so we picked old movies−“Donna said, but was interrupted by Derek.
“We got four movies and decided to let you choose which one we watch first,” Olivia said.
“We wanted a variety, so we have drama, comedy, action and romance. One from each genre.” Donna said.
“I was totally against the romance, but the ladies out voted me. Chick flicks−yuck,” Derek said opening his mouth pretending to gag on his finger.
“Oh shut up! You’re an emotionally stunted individual,” Olivia said jokingly.
“That’s why we get along so well,” he said draping his arm over her shoulders. She playfully elbowed him.
Richard had been so absorbed in Chromosome‘S’, he hadn’t noticed Derek’s face or the scratches to his arms and legs.
“Derek, what happened to you?” He said examining his wounds.
“He hasn’t learned to catch yet,” Olivia giggled, “Football hit him in the nose.”
“I meant to ask you to look at him, but was side tracked,” Donna said, “They both have scratches on their arms and legs.” He glanced at their injuries.
“How did you get the scratches?” He asked Olivia.
“Short cut…bunch of bushes,” she responded, turning from her Dad.
“With your years of working in the E.R. I figured you were better than taking him to the doctor’s office.”
“His nose isn’t broken, he’ll have some swelling and bruising, but that’s it. Nothing to worry about and the scratches are superficial, again, nothing to worry about,” he said confidently.
“See I told you,” Derek said, “You wouldn’t believe me…it’s because I’m a teenager, right?” He joked.
“Yeah, that’s it, you figured me out,” Donna retorted.
“Well, who’s making the popcorn?” Richard asked.
“Me!” Olivia shouted, beating out Derek. They both enjoyed making popcorn. The popcorn maker was the commercial kind, you find at the movie theatres, with the corn cooking in the kettle at the top of the glass enclosed receptacle. They would watch it pop out and shower down as the smell of hot butter permeated the air. There was nothing like movie-theatre popcorn. “I’ll make the first batch—you make the next,” she told Derek.
As the kids made the popcorn, Richard and Donna had a moment alone.
“I’m so proud of you,” she said. “You’re amazing!” She was referring to more than Chromosome‘S’. To her, he was a great Dad, friend and person, no one she had ever met was like Richard.
“Thanks, but I stumbled on to it by accident. It could have happened to anyone,” he replied humbly.
They sat silently unable to come up with anything to say. She finally broke the silence. “When we were at the video store, the kids mentioned they wanted to spend time at the mall tomorrow and I guess they volunteered you to take them.”
“I need to go into town anyway; I’ll take them around eleven. They can have lunch there.”
“Sounds good…oh, one more thing, the kids asked if we could all go to Sunset Beach on Sunday and have a picnic. I told them it would be fun, what do you think?” Say yes, say yes, she thought.
“That does sound fun. Sure!” He said wholeheartedly, “So which movie would you like to watch first?”
“We decided, you would pick,” she said.
“I prefer it if you chose,” he said trying to be gentlemanly.
“Then I pick…the romance, of course,” she said causing her face to flush. She swallowed down a dry throat, “I’ll check on how the popcorn’s coming along.”
She walked over to the kids who were giggling as usual! Derek was probably saying something funny. He always knew exactly what to say to make Olivia laugh.
As she walked over to the kids, Richard admired her walk. He felt a pang in his heart, having fallen for her years ago, but was too scared to make a move. What if she didn’t have the same feelings for him? It could ruin their friendship and that’s the last thing he wanted. He had seen it happen many times over the years to his friends, ending up with nothing.
After his wife died, he truly believed he would never want another woman, but when he met Donna, with her black raven hair, mesmerizing blue eyes and a smile that could melt ice, he realized how wrong he was. It wasn’t all about her exceptional looks, but about the person she was. She had a great sense of humor, loving, caring, and she loved Olivia as her own. She wasn’t controlling nor had an overpowering personality−she was perfect.
He knew he needed to make his move soon. A woman as remarkable as Donna was bound to meet someone who would steal her heart. What would he do then?
As they watched the movie, Richard would sneak a quick glance at Donna without her knowledge and vice versa. Olivia and Derek were aware of what was happening between their parents. Olivia would notic
e her father look over at Donna. She would elbow Derek or he would elbow her, then giggle.
“What’s so funny, you guys?” Donna asked.
“Nothing,’ they replied, they went back to sharing their popcorn, wearing smiles that didn’t fade.
CHAPTER VIII
“Thanks for the ride, Dad,” Olivia said.
“Yeah, thanks a lot. We really appreciate it,” Derek said, as Richard pulled up next to Subway, right outside The Pony Village Mall.
“Have fun, but don’t get into trouble, you hear me, It must be the most common phrase from the ‘parenting handbook,’ because every kid has heard this spew out of their parent’s mouth. “Oh, wait a second,” Richard said, pulling a couple of bills from his pocket. “Here’s for video games, lunch or whatever. That’s twenty for each of you.”
“Thanks Dad!” Olivia said, kissing him goodbye.
“Thanks again,” Derek said, closing the door.
They watch him drive away.
Pony Village was nothing compared to the giant big city malls; it was a simple two-level modest mall, where at least a third of the available retail spaces were unoccupied. From time to time, a new store would open up and within six months, would close down. These were the exciting times! The best deals were when the stores closed down, because they reduced their prices drastically to eliminate their inventory.
Olivia and Derek were aware which stores were closing up. One was an electronics store, the other clothing, both couldn’t compete with the retail giants in town−Wal−Mart and Fred Meyer.
They walked inside, making a beeline for the clothing store. It was crowded with teens and adults, most of them women, reaching for anything that wasn’t nailed down. They were pushing and shoving in an effort to get that one item they couldn’t live without.
Derek was amused by two ladies tussling over a blouse, both tugging back and forth. It reminded him of two dogs fighting over the same bone. He wouldn’t have been surprised if they barked at each other.
