Tales of the Vuduri_Year Five

by Michael Brachman

  Rei turned his head to look at it. “This is really going to work, right?” he asked.

  “To the best of my knowledge,” replied the livetar. “You still have time to change your mind.”

  “No, just do it,” Rei said. “I trust you.”

  So that's it. Rei turned down his last chance to back out. Nothing left to do but have MINIMCOM inject Rei's body with constructors and see what happens.

  Entry 5-101: April 11, 2017

  Army Ants

  Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM turned off the artificial gravity in his cargo bay so that his patient, Rei Beirak, could be weightless. Now I have no idea whether surgical operations would truly go better in space than here on Earth but Rome’s Evolution is science fiction so why not. MINIMCOM is poised and ready so let's see what happens:

  “Very well,” MINIMCOM said. He set the syringe down on Rei’s bed and reformed one of his fingers into a very short range PPT thrower. He drew it carefully along the cast encasing Rei’s arm. In one smooth motion, the cast split in half and MINIMCOM removed it. The livetar retrieved the syringe and inserted the needle into Rei’s bicep. He pressed on the plunger gently and the fluid level decreased slightly.

  “I am going to knit your broken arm first,” MINIMCOM said. “This is the simplest test I can think of such that the VIRUS units can learn to work with my miniature null-fold.”

  “Whatever,” Rei said. “Get to it.”

  Two holographic projectors lit up and showed a blood-red field with a milky white rod passing through.

  “I have equipped these constructors with multi-spectral sensors,” MINIMCOM said. “I am synthesizing their imagery as we would with the star-probes.”

  The image in the air shifted and a dark grey, jagged line appeared. “By using infra-red imagery, we can discern structures within the space. I am using false color but that is the actual bone fracture,” MINIMCOM said. “I will transport random bone cells from the undamaged portion of your arm to the fracture. The constructors will move them into final position. Watch.”

  Like an army of tiny ants, little grains of white appeared in the dark area. Slowly but surely, the areas of dark became light and soon there was no evidence that a break ever occurred.

  “The bone is set,” MINIMCOM announced. “However, there is no actual rigidity yet. You will have to wait several hours for the amalgam to cure. It will take a day or two until the bone returns to its normal state.”

  The portion in bold is important. I have heard, mostly through injury reports on football players, that broken bones have to go through a "sticky" period as they are knitting and forming a solid structure. I had a long term plan on why I needed this to be true but it feels right here so we'll just let it go. There is plenty more drama coming.

  Entry 5-102: April 12, 2017

  Building a new skull

  Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM sent in a team of VIRUS-based constructor units into Rei's bloodstream. MINIMCOM ordered them to cluster around the fracture in Rei's arm. He then used a miniature null-fold projector to transport random bone cells from other parts of Rei's arm into the cavity and the constructors fitted them together like puzzle pieces. At this point, Rei's arm has been completely reconstructed and the bone just needs to set. Today, MINIMCOM is going to try and heal the hole in Rei's skull using a more advanced version of the same technique:

  MINIMCOM removed the bandages and packing from the back of Rei’s skull. Rome gasped at the size of the wound. The portion of Rei’s skull that was missing was a full two inches in diameter. His living brain was exposed, the grey matter pulsing with his heartbeat. Only a thin plastic film covered the area. MINIMCOM removed it and cerebrospinal fluid started gushing out for a moment then the tiny flood stopped. MINIMCOM held it at bay with an outstretched hand and a small null-fold twist.

  “I will place a thin bio-polymer film underneath the remaining bone,” MINIMCOM said. “I have coated both sides with an arteriogenic compound that should cause new blood vessels to form. This will help in the healing process. The film will also prevent Rei’s brain from leaking any more fluid.”

  Mercifully, the film that MINIMCOM placed over the wound was opaque such that Rei’s exposed brain was no longer visible. MINIMCOM retrieved the syringe with the grayish liquid. However, instead of injecting Rei, MINIMCOM merely expelled a few drops of the fluid with enough force that despite the lack of gravity, they spread evenly across the film, held in place by surface tension.

  “First, the dura mater,” MINIMCOM said. Cells from all over Rei’s skull were transported to the film and assembled by the VIRUS units. Soon a visibly thickened layer of tissue was formed.

  “Won’t removing the tissue from other parts of his head cause damage?” Rome asked, even as she watched the fascinating display.

  “No,” MINIMCOM said. “I am taking less than .01% of the cells from any given area. Any micro-perforations this causes will heal instantaneously. No section will even miss them.”

  Rei grunted.

  “Am I causing you pain?” MINIMCOM asked with some concern. “I can apply an anesthetic if you need it.”

  “No,” Rei said. “It’s just a little weird being your science experiment. I’m fine. Keep going.”

  MINIMCOM nodded. Layer by layer, MINIMCOM built up the tissues culminating in a fibrous bony surface covered by muscle. Finally, MINIMCOM took tiny sections of Rei’s scalp and knit them together, closing the wound completely. In another age, it would be considered the ultimate in hair-plugs.

  “That’s amazing,” Dr. Martell said, bending over to inspect the repairs. “If I hadn’t seen the wound myself, I’d swear it was never there.”

  Wow. Don't you wish our doctors had the ability to do this today? I even impressed myself. Now that this is a proven good technique, it is time for the main show, i.e. healing Rei's back.

  Entry 5-103: April 13, 2017

  A girl’s spine?

  Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM rebuilt Rei's skull so well that Dr. Montrell could not even tell that it had ever been injured. The techniques MINIMCOM developed, using spot cells from other parts of the body and VIRUS-based constructors to move and shape tissue, seemed to be a smashing success. So now it was time for MINIMCOM to dive in and try and repair Rei's back and spine. But the livetar had barely rolled up his sleeves when he hit a roadblock:

  “I have a problem,” MINIMCOM said.

  “What kind of problem?” Rome asked worriedly.

  MINIMCOM activated the holo-projectors and the air lit up with a pink/grey goopy-looking mass of tissue with flecks of red and white all around.

  “The bones have been so thoroughly damaged, I do not know if I can reconstruct them exactly correctly. I could use the vertebrae higher up as a model but then mechanically, they would not fit in the precise fashion required. I have access to some anatomical charts but they are only 2D, not three dimensional.”

  “Use me,” Rome said immediately.

  Rei turned to look up at his wife. “What are you talking about?”

  “MINIMCOM can inject me with VIRUS units. They can give him a picture of an intact spine, vertebrae by vertebrae. He can use me as his model.”

  “No offense but I’m a lot bigger than you,” Rei said. “I don’t think I’d do too well with a girl’s spine.”

  “Rome’s idea will work,” MINIMCOM interjected. “I will compare her L2 vertebrae to yours to get the proper scale factor. Then we will work our way down, vertebrae and disk alike.”

  Rome smiled and nodded. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Remove your magnetic boots,” MINIMCOM said. “Doctor, I will need you to hold her in the same horizontal position as Rei while I perform the reconstruction.”

  “I can do that,” Russell said. “Finally, I can contribute something.”

  Rome slipped off her magnetic boots and immediately began rising up into the air. Dr. Montrell reached out and Rome gripped his arms so that Russell could steady her. Soon she was floating in the air perfectly horizo
ntally. She rested her head on her arm so she could see Rei’s face and not think about what was going to happen. MINIMCOM produced a new syringe then came over and injected Rome’s lumbar spine. The livetar looked off into the distance.

  “Yes,” the all-black animated shell responded, “this will do fine.” MINIMCOM turned back to Rei and put his hands over Rei’s lower back almost like a faith healer. He froze for a moment while integrating the data streams. At last, he was ready.

  Well, it worked for Adam. He donated a rib and got a girl, Eve, in exchange. So turnabout is fair play. Rome's Vuduri spine should work perfectly well as a model. Let's see how it turns out.

  Entry 5-104: April 14, 2017

  Pain is good?

  Yesterday, Dr. MINIMCOM injected Rome with VIRUS-based constructor units to serve as visualization aids. Kind of like the Fantastic Voyage version of the star-probes. MINIMCOM's plan was to use Rome's intact spine as a model for rebuilding Rei's shattered vertebrae. At this point, Rome is floating in the air, weightless, held in place by Dr. Russell Montrell. It is time for MINIMCOM to start the rebuilding process:

  “Now we begin,” said MINIMCOM and he commenced with the reconstruction project.

  As he was concentrating on the procedure, MINIMCOM did not bother with the holographic display. Rome and Dr. Montrell could only stand by helplessly as the livetar performed his magic. MINIMCOM did take a moment here and there to announce the next step but mostly he concentrated on his work. He segregated all the bone fragments and gently coaxed them into a shape nearly identical to how they appeared, pre-injury. He reconstructed the vertebral disks, inside and out. He straightened out the dura mater. MINIMCOM was very careful to never move the spinal nerve fibers but rather built around them.

  It took about two hours but finally MINIMCOM announced that he was done. He used a pulsed application of the microscopic null-fold field to ensure that the cerebrospinal fluid was flowing properly. Satisfied, he gently rotated Rei around along his transverse axis so that he was facing upward.

  “The VIRUS units are shut down. Their carcasses will serve as a matrix to give your spine some rigidity until it is fully healed. How do you feel?” MINIMCOM asked.

  “The same,” Rei said, disappointed. “I still can’t feel my legs. I can’t move them.”

  “The nerves have been severely shocked,” MINIMCOM intoned. “There will be a progression of return of functionality. The first neurons to activate should be the nociceptors.”

  “What are those?” Rome asked as Russell lowered her back to the deck. Rome pressed her feet back into her magnetic boots so she could stand.

  MINIMCOM reformed one of his fingers into a sharp point. He stuck it into Rei’s left sole.

  “Ouch!” Rei exclaimed then he laughed. Rome was confused but then she smiled too. “Pain receptors. I get it,” she said.

  “Yes,” MINIMCOM said. “Proprioceptors next, then motor neurons, then the full complement of efferents and afferents.”

  “What can we do to help?” Russell asked anxiously.

  “There is nothing to do,” MINIMCOM replied. “The only thing any of us can do now is wait.”

  Isn't it funny that pain receptors are the last to go and the first to return? Usually, when something hurts, it is already damaged. I'm not 100% sure of the purpose of pain but in this case, it was a positive indicator that MINIMCOM did a good job. Tomorrow, I'll show you a few frames from Bruce's animatic version of the procedure.

  Entry 5-105: April 15, 2017

  Animatic Fixin’

  Yesterday, I promised you a few screen caps from my brother Bruce's animatic book trailer for Rome’s Evolution. Bruce did an amazing job but the book trailer will never see the light of day. It turns out, they are a lot of work and just don't motivate anybody to buy a book. So we pulled the plug.

  Nonetheless, here is Bruce's animatic of Rei's spine being repaired. It is MINIMCOM standing over Rei with the silhouetted Rome off to the left. The VIRUS units have been injected into Rei's body and the repairs are symbolized by a blazing orange flame:

  So what's wrong with this? Pretty much everything. MINIMCOM does not have a cape. Rome is standing, not floating in the air, held in place by Dr. Montrell. Rei is supposed to be floating, face down. The "magic" is supposed to happen within his spine, not his head.

  So, does that detract from the moving images? Not one bit. The way Bruce did it is pretty cool and the net effect is the same: Rei is healed. It just isn't how I envisioned it but that's the beauty of writing words. People can form any picture they want in their head.

  Entry 5-106: April 16, 2017

  Life on Enceladus

  Recently, NASA announced that they had discovered hydrogen in the plumes or volcanic jets seen emitting from the surface of Enceladus, one of the smaller moons orbiting Saturn. Now you might think that as a science fiction writer, I would find this very exciting and look forward to further research.

  NASA scientists finished analyzing the molecular content of one of the plumes after the Casssini spacecraft sent the data back during a close encounter with Enceladus a while ago. In October 2015, Cassini came within 30 miles of the surface of Enceladus, and collected particles from a plume spray. Amazingly, the plume was made up mostly of water but had a significant amount of hydrogen molecules. Water, hydrogen and carbon dioxide can combine to form both hydrocarbons as well as carbohydrates. These are things that can sustain life.

  So am I excited that there may be life right here in our own cosmic backyard? No. I am terrified. If life can form anywhere at the drop of a hat, even on a frozen moon on the outskirts of our solar system, then it must be exceedingly common throughout the galaxy, if not the entire universe. This is what makes it scary: The Fermi Paradox which says if life is so common, how come we haven't heard from anybody or detected any signs of intelligence yet?

  The reason this is terrifying is because it might imply that intelligence cannot or does not survive very long, cosmically speaking. Which means we may be staring down the barrel of our own destruction. The Drake Equation allows us to estimate how many habitable worlds there are and most estimates say there are a lot. And if there are a lot, you'd expect life and ultimately intelligent life to form if it is easy to do.

  It would be much better if life were an exceedingly rare occurrence. Then the Fermi Paradox isn't so bad. It just means that finding our brothers and sisters among the stars is going to take a long time rather than we are ultimately doomed. Personally, I like the idea of a promising future better that guaranteed doom.

  There is one more thing. As I have mentioned before, if we do find alien life, I have to retire from writing science fiction and start writing science facts so forgive me if I hope that we do not find life on Enceladus. Can you blame me?

  Entry 5-107: April 17, 2017

  A good sign

  As we have seen over the last few days, "Dr. MINIMCOM" had performed his miraculous procedure on Rei's back by injecting him with VIRUS-based constructors and allowing them to rebuild his broken spine. They had already demonstrated that Rei's spinal cord had some connectivity to his feet because he was able to feel pain. Rome and Dr. Montrell were simply giving Rei time to continuing the healing process. At last, MINIMCOM told them it was time to look in on the patient:

  Russell followed Rome through the archway which also served as an auxiliary airlock and down the corridor until they entered the cargo bay. Rei was sleeping soundly, floating gently above the hospital bed. The sounds of the magnetic boots clomping awakened him.

  He smiled and reached out with his hand. Rome came over to take it. With a whoosh and a pop, MINIMCOM’s livetar reappeared. The tall black entity put his hand under Rei’s back, touching it gently.

  “Your spine has set very well,” MINIMCOM said. “Let us perform a few tests but please try and keep your back as still as possible.”

  “Sure thing,” Rei said.

  MINIMCOM uncovered Rei’s bare feet.

  “Can you wiggle your toes?
” MINIMCOM asked. Rei did so vigorously which made him laugh. MINIMCOM lifted Rei’s right leg and bent it back at the knee. “Can you straighten your leg?”

  Rei was able to straighten it easily and with no pain. They repeated the procedure with the other leg.

  “Can you push harder?” MINIMCOM asked. Although he had lost a little bit of strength, Rei was able to generate a surprising amount of force which made MINIMCOM nod.

  MINIMCOM said, “I am satisfied. Doctor?”

  Russell came over and tickled the bottom of Rei’s feet. Rei laughed again. Dr. Montrell tested Rei’s ankle, calf and thigh muscle tone. After he exhausted every diagnostic he could think of, he stepped back.

  “This is absolutely beyond incredible,” he said in wonder. “There is no way any human surgeon or any medical procedure we have ever developed that could come close to this. This is a flat-out miracle.”

  Rome bent over and kissed Rei’s forehead. She looked up the doctor. “Not a miracle,” she said. “It is MINIMCOM. He never ceases to amaze us.”