13 Degrees of Separation

by Hechtl, Chris

  Fonz's eyes briefly widened and then he nodded. “I'll do that ma'am,” he replied, straightening.

  The doctor smiled to the heavy worlder Asazi standing outside the hatch. “Well, I'm glad that's settled,” she said.

  Roland glanced at his gold watch, “It's a little early for lunch but...”

  Thornby frowned and instantly triggered her implants to get an emergency call so she could back out of the unwanted dinner date. The lights flickered. “Doctor Thornby, you are wanted in the central ER,” Smithy's voice said over the intercom.

  The insurance adjuster, Marines, and attorney looked up and then to the doctor.. Thornby frowned and then sighed theatrically. “A doctor's work is never done.”

  Roland made a moue. “Perhaps some other time then,” he said bowing to her slightly. She smiled politely and left at a trot, relieved the ploy had worked.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Later that evening, the good attorney put a call in to a friend. It was an expensive call, but he wrote it off as official business. He made certain to apply the necessary encryption as well as secure his office. “Paul,” he said, smiling to the image on the screen.

  “Governor Walker, Roland,” Paul Walker replied, eyes narrowed. “At least in public, or using public channels,” he warned.

  Roland smiled politely. “Well, these are secure systems,” he said. “And this is a bit of a heads up. You'll never guess what our dear doctor Thornby has been up to. And what she's got. Some rather expensive projects...”

  When he tapered off with a smile Walker sat back and knitted his fingers together. “Oh? Tell me more. I've got a few minutes,” he said, glancing away briefly.

  “Well then, since you have the spare time,” the attorney said and then started laying out everything the doctor had been up to.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “How do we play this?” Walker mused after he terminated the conversation with Roland. Roland was a politician, obviously passing the little tid bit on and expecting Walker to pay him back with a favor later on. At least he knew which side to back, Walker thought. He needed something to help his slipping poll numbers or he'd be in trouble come re-election time. His constant feud with the Navy was dragging him down.

  “Sir, um...” Nelson squirmed.

  “Spit it out, I didn't hire you to waste my time Nelson,” the Governor said, eying the aide.

  “Sir, if you go with the usual attack modis, it might backfire since this is humanitarian in nature. Doctor Thornby is also very popular with her free medical clinics and basic first aid training...”

  “Another black eye,” the Governor replied, tapping a finger against his lips.

  “And she is technically a member of the cabinet sir.”

  “She is,” he murmured. Thornby could be trusted to be absent unless something medical in nature was on the agenda. She rarely left the Anvil station as of late. Now he knew why.

  “Sir, if we instead backed the project, we could get an in there. You won't get your hands on the equipment, but perhaps some of the data, and of course the public good will...”

  “Which would be wasted on Thornby,” Walker replied. Slowly he rocked back and forth in his chair.

  “She won't take it sir, most likely she'll say thanks but no thanks. But putting yourself out there will look good in the long run, and if she does take a few things, you can lean on her later.”

  “You're talking about getting her on the hook and then reeling her in slowly. We do need her support, and I want someone better than that quack Oro. Witch doctor, that's what my wife calls him,” Walker frowned.

  “Doctor Oro is the best we can get sir, none of the Anvil staff have bitten, no matter what incentive we've offered.”

  “None of them? Well, perhaps we can change that. Let's see what we can do to grab... I mean assert our proper place in the political credit for this endeavor. It's a long term project right?” The aide nodded. “Right,” the Governor said. “So we can use that. I wouldn't mind taking it from the Navy. It's not their responsibility anyway.”

  “Yes sir,” Nelson replied, bobbing a nod.

  “At the very least we can get her to shit or get off the pot as far as the cabinet is concerned. If she makes an ass of herself I'll be justified in firing her. So, let's see what we can wring out of this and the proper way to do it to maximize our benefits while minimizing our outlay...”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “What the hell is he playing at?” Thornby demanded. She'd seen the news cast as well as the public press conference where the dear Governor had waxed about the projects, and how he was personally pledging to help with them for humanitarian reasons. The clapping from the audience when he had finished had given her mixed feelings. His talk of how the best medics in the system hadn't flattered her as he'd intended. Nor had his statement that they will be having meetings about the projects amuse her in the slightest.

  “Politics as usual?” Doctor Standish asked.

  “Yeah, well, he can butt out. We don't need his kind of help. They come with strings attached,” Doctor Thornby growled.

  “What does he want? Have you asked?”

  “I'm wondering the same thing. Roland tried to get his slimy hands on the equipment.”

  “Why do we need that anyway doc, can't we make it?”

  “Not without the admiral,” Thornby replied patiently. “Some of it, no. It's one of a kind. I'm not even certain he can make it. The admiral didn't have medical codes so... I doubt it.”

  “Oh.”

  “So what is Walker up to?”

  “Publicity? Do you think he wants the good public relations?” Smithy asked. “To buffer his low poll ratings?”

  Doctor Thornby looked up to the ceiling and then over to the AI's avatar. “It could be. I'm guessing Roland or someone on his staff spilled the beans and violated patient confidentiality.”

  “You didn't spell out what you wanted doctor in the plastic surgeries, or why, but I think between that and the refugees it's pretty obvious. I am actually surprised he's taking a kid glove approach to that. It's odd.”

  “I was wondering that myself. He's gone about attacking the Navy on every front, either with frontal attacks or subtle jabs and power grab attempts... this isn't his style.”

  “Or not his established pattern. He's changed tactics. More carrot and less stick.”

  “More bees with honey you mean?” Smithy asked.

  “He's building gratitude, okay, I get that,” Thornby replied. “And who ever taught you expressions like that...” she tisked tisked. The AI spread his hands making her smile.

  “Sorry doctor, I may have picked some of that up from Io or Sprite.”

  “Io?” Doctor Standish asked. “The ship?”

  “Io the AI. A daughter AI of Sprite. Long story,” Smithy replied waving a dismissive hand. He turned to the two doctors. “How else can I help you here doctors?”

  “I think you two are right, he's playing nice. Either to cozen me, or to build something so he can draw a favor later. I don't know. What I don't like is how he did it publicly. I can't snap his head off over it.”

  “True.”

  “And he's involving the system medical officer thing too,” Doctor Standish replied, shaking his head. “I thought that was you doc?”

  Thornby frowned. “It's a political appointment. I've been sitting on it and wearing that hat along with others, but I'm not a politician. I'm a hands on kind of gal,” she said.

  Doctor Standish chuckled. “You mean you haven't sunk that low into politics,” he teased.

  “That too,” the doctor said with a slight smile tugging at her lips.

  “So, is he buttering you up for that, or trying to get you to resign? Or what?”

  “He could want a doctor on his staff,” Standish said absently. “I heard a few people were asked about it,” he said. “His wife doesn't like doctor Oro.”

  “Oh?” Thornby asked with a cooling tone, raising an eyebrow.
/>   “Receiving unsolicited job offers isn't a crime doctor,” Smithy replied.

  “No, but if he leans on any of my people, or tries to blackmail them into quitting...” Thornby replied growling.

  “I cannot get into details, there is a privacy issue there. You will have to speak with the recipients if they come forward,” The AI replied.

  The doctor frowned ferociously. She started to demand the list of names but thought better of it and settled down. She realized that the AI would balk on giving her that list so it was pointless to ask. She would however put her own feelers out there. She'd been so wrapped up in this project she'd failed to keep an eye on the larger picture.

  “He has a medical staff. None of my people, but they are there.”

  “Yes, that's just it. Your people have the best training, the best equipment, the best access to said equipment and facilities.”

  “That's not my fault. They can sign up for the college to train. Or apply for an internship here,” she replied defensively. “Or with the Navy.”

  “We also have the exchange program, and the medical library,” Doctor Standish interjected. “We now make all medical data available to all medical staff on all the colonies,” he said nodding firmly.

  “So they have the knowledge available, but not the skills.”

  “As the Governor, he deserves the best medical care.”

  Thornby frowned. “Look Smithy, I know you're playing devil's advocate here, but he already get's medical care. The same as everyone else. Probably a bump or two above in grade, but we'll leave it at that. Having an entire hospital for his high and mighty is a bit extreme. We need to provide for everyone, not throw a lot of resources at one person and have it sitting there while it could be used elsewhere,” she growled.

  “True.”

  “Glad you agree.”

  “But having a medic on staff would be like having a spy in camp.”

  “No, I wouldn't open up a person to that kind of ethical problem,” Thornby said, shaking her head. “No. We can figure something else out.”

  “Besides, we don't need his help. His offer of space is misplaced. Ssilli in a moon colony like Vesta? Are you kidding me?” Doctor Standish demanded with a snort. That got Thornby to settle down as she pictured that. Slowly she shook her head.

  “You know, we can release images of the ensign in his habitat inside San Diego. With his permission of course. That would put that plan on its' head. The Malekian...” She shrugged.

  Doctor Martel looked up from what she'd been reading. She'd largely stayed out of the political discussion, sitting on the sideline in her seat and doing her best to pretend she wasn't there. She cleared her throat and held up her tablet as the others looked to her.

  “It's a thought doctor Thornby, though I believe they would need a sky. But back to the problem with the base pair sequences for limb changes, we need more computer time to model it and model how it will react over time... Which is why we called you Smithy....”

  Thornby shook herself and nodded. Together the group dived back into the project.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Some of what the staff learned from the databases and in the research rubbed off on the Malekian and Ssilli resurrection projects. Previous attempts at cloning each species over the past six months had failed for various reasons. Sometimes they had understood why, sometimes not until their research pointed their failure out.

  It wasn't just the fragile nature of the embryo's, or the complexity of the Malekian physiology, but also the lack of information on their reproduction and gestation that was hindering progress. The lack of knowledge of the chemicals, PH, temperatures, and such for the womb as well. Finding the right balance was going to take a lot of experimentation at this rate. That would burn up cells and they'd lose thousands of fetuses. Simulating it all in the computers were out. There wasn't enough knowledge to extrapolate coherent data. Garbage in, garbage out.

  “I see you have recommended Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. It's a tried and true technique, we've been exploring it for several of our resurrection projects with mixed results.” The doctor frowned, still looking down at the tablet, going through the notes. That was true, and it opened the door to artificial DNA, or even donor DNA. The process was simple, take the egg, either the host's or a donor's egg, suck out the genetic material from the nucleus, then inject the desired genetic material. The two were then fused with chemicals and then incubated.

  With modern nanites they could do all the eggs in a host's ovaries, and alter the ovaries to produce the altered eggs if necessary. There were some drawbacks however. “Using somatic cells from an adult is fine in theory, but you have to understand, in doing so you take on the adult's cellular clock. Which means the cells will rapidly age unless that is corrected beforehand. Which obviously didn't happen here.”

  “How can you access the equipment? Your implants?” Trenton asked.

  “Doctor Standish and I have Navy implants. Military medical implants are a higher grade than pure civilian fair, doctor,” Thornby replied, scanning the report she had and not looking up.

  “Can we get those implants?” Trenton asked after a long moment when Thornby didn't elaborate.

  Thornby grunted. “Unfortunately no, not unless you sign up for a hitch with the Navy. Which wouldn't have a problem with you in most cases, but your um... inferiority complex is an issue.”

  “Inferiority complex...” Trenton frowned.

  “Look it up. You're a doctor, I'm being honest with you, you need to be honest with yourself as well,” Thornby said, turning to him.

  “I... see.”

  “I know,” she smiled, “It's hard to accept criticism no matter how it's presented. Work on it. Hopefully, you'll see it for what it is, and work on changing that. You have some beautiful minds, hopefully you'll realize the body is just a vessel for your intellect.”

  “Perhaps in time doctor.”

  “I hope so,” Thornby said stubbornly then sighed. “I, look. One of the reasons I took this, is because yes we lack the equipment, but by now you heard the admiral left.”

  “Admiral Irons? He sounded like a remarkable human.”

  “Yes. He can make this stuff and more. But we can't. Only basics.”

  “Oh.”

  “That is why we need your equipment. I can supply you with substitutes so you can set up a hospital somewhere if you'd like.”

  Trenton looked up in surprise. “That is an interesting proposal doctor.”

  “Or, if you chose, you may decide to remain here. I wouldn't mind if you and the others decide to remain on staff.” She had come to realize that they had a first class education rivaling her own in the plastic surgery and OB/GYN fields.

  “I believe the Neo tax precludes that doctor,” Trenton replied patiently.

  “True, well, there is always Seti Alpha 4. They are setting up quite the medical complex there as well,” the doctor replied.

  “Oh?” Trenton asked, turning to her.

  Thornby smiled. “Apparently when the admiral was dropped off the ship he came in, the Io 11, carried one of their medical doctors back to his home planet and set him up with equipment that rivals what I have here. Or so I heard.”

  “Fascinating,” Trenton replied.

  Thornby shrugged. “I only heard about it after the fact. Apparently John, um, Admiral Irons, he provided the keys to replicate a lot of the equipment for them.”

  “Interesting,” the Neo replied. He handed her a tablet. “I think the latest test results, specifically the epsilon group show promise doctor,” he said.

  “Thank you,” she replied, taking it.

  “So, you plan to help others? Than the equipment will go to good use then.”

  “Oh definitely. We're working on resurrecting species, perhaps we can apply it to the Taurens as well. Ox deserves it...” she murmured, getting a faraway look.

  “Everyone deserves a second chance doctor,” Trenton replied.

  Thornby shoo
k herself. “Well, everyone but the Xenos.”

  “Agreed.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  When she was ready, Doctor Martel called Doctor Thornby and the team together to present her findings. After they went over the results they presented the plan to Trenton and the other leaders of the Chimerian clan.

  “Artificial gene synthesis. What I can do is identify the undesirable gene sequences, those you want to part with and then replace them with gene sequences we will create in the lab. The problem is this will work only with your children.”

  “Our children?” Miss Drusilla asked, taking the tablet. She was a medic, a trained surgical nurse with some experience in the OB/Gyn fields.

  “Yes. In order to do this we'd have to do it with your eggs and sperm.”

  “But what about us?”

  “You would be the last of your generation.”

  “No, us. Why not us?” Another Chimerian asked.

  “Do you have any idea how many cells there are in the body? We'd have to change the sequence of all of them. All at the same time or your body would reject the new DNA as cancer.”

  “What about when the body rejuvenates itself? It does that periodically. If you altered the genes sequences in the new batch...”

  Doctor Martel shook her head. She herself had explored that option, only to discard it as extremely risky. “The problem is if we did that you wouldn't be you. You would lose a lot of your identity. I'm not sure how your bodies would react. They could treat the changes as cancerous. It could very well kill you.”

  “We're willing to take that risk doctor.”

  “And I'm not. I swore an oath to do no harm. Going to this extreme constitutes harm. And do you understand the work involved in just altering one of you? Billions of stem cells would have to be altered and replaced. Sure the machinery can do some of the work, but not all of it! And that is just one of you! There are dozens here! A hundred altogether!”

  “I see,” Trenton replied quietly, sounding dispirited.

  Doctor Thornby rested her hand on the man's shoulder. “I know you wanted to be human. I don't understand the urge, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Trust me. I'd love to have some of your abilities. But human is a state of mind too.”