On exiting the modest home, Fasil noticed that gunmen were on the roofs surrounding his own bodyguards. Fasil left.
A similar fate had befallen Mohammed. Mohammed was even less willing to talk to Fasil.
Babu was only able to talk to him in the presence of two of his brothers, an uncle, and father. They completely believed that their entire male line would be eliminated by the American and wouldn’t talk further. Fasil noticed as he left that all the males of the village stood at the side of the road watching him leave. Most carried heavy guns. No women or children were in sight.
On returning home, Fasil had received a flat envelope containing a DVD, the return address on the envelope was CompuHead Industries. He put the DVD into his computer. A picture show started. It contained very clear images of his trip to Abu, Mohammed, and Babu, hundreds of pictures, including pictures of Fasil within his limousine. It also had a picture of an indistinct man throwing a tan lump of flesh to a set of large hogs. More upsetting were pictures of him eating with his wife, his nude wife putting on her dressing gown, his eldest son looking down at his grandchild, his daughter talking to her son, a picture of Fasil sitting on the toilet, and a picture of hogs eating from a trough. The only writing were the words: ‘I feel that violence is the last possible resort for reasonable men.’
YEAR 19.2 UNCLE DAVID’S PICK-UP AND DELIVERY
David was now nineteen and was in Oslo Norway with Phyllis when he picked up the news. The first he heard was that a young boy was being kept locked in his room, with electrodes implanted in his brain for some scientific experiment. The boy was comatose and 3 years old. Two hours later Martin transmitted to David and Phyllis.
Martin: David, Phyllis did you hear the news that’s breaking about that little boy with the electrodes?
Phyllis: Barely Dr. Klein, it all seems so jumbled. We know only little more than the news media. The parents are Janet and Sidney Ryan, who work in a very small biotech firm in Cambridge, a place called Lepto-Molecular Pharmaceuticals. The company is a startup with about a dozen scientists; the Ryans are two of the most senior. The baby’s name is Joshua. According to the birth certificate, he’s actually four years old. Oh, here’s something, the baby has LPH deficiency. It’s a very rare deteriorating auto-immune condition, where neurons break down in childhood. The interconnections actually dissolve. Few of the LPH children reach their twenties. Those that do are frequently in a vegetative state. It is a very rare genetic condition. There is no cure. But then again, with about one LPH patient in twenty million the drug companies wouldn’t bother with them.
Martin: Actually Phyl, some do. The FDA makes it relatively easy to get drugs approved for these rare diseases. They have special rules for orphan drugs. I heard of one drug that only had eight patients to prove that it worked. It helped that a senator’s son had the disease. However, you’re right about LPH. Currently there is no cure or useful treatment.
David: Dad, did you notice their purchases about four years ago. They bought carbon nanotubes and a collagen matrix.
Martin: Hmmm, that’s what I used on you.
David: Dad, should Phyllis and I come home?
Martin: I don’t think so yet. But we’ll watch this play out a bit.
***
Reporter: I have here Dr. Janet Ryan, the mother of four-year-old Joshua. She’s in the center of this latest controversy. When did you first hear of your son’s condition?
Janet Ryan: When I was 4 months pregnant, I had an amniocentesis, and they recognized the genetic disorder.
Reporter: Did you consider an abortion?
Janet Ryan: I think any mother, facing the early and horrible death of her son would think of it. But I believe in God and didn’t consider it any further.
Reporter: Can you tell me about your son’s disease?
Janet Ryan: Joshua has a very rare genetic disorder, called LPH Deficiency or Morgan’s Disease, LPH stands for a protein which is in not in his blood and brain fluid. The missing protein allows the uncontrolled build up a second autoimmune protein. For little Joshua this protein will slowly dissolve the neuron’s dendrites and axons.
Reporter: You mean it’s dissolving his brain.
Janet Ryan: Ahh, you can say that. Yes.
Reporter: Then Doctor Ryan, what did you do?
Janet Ryan: We, my husband and I, decided that one step we could take to save my son, at least temporarily, until a cure was found, was to allow a computer to interconnect the cells to one another.
Reporter: But you didn’t get permission to do this very experimental procedure. Isn’t it normal practice to go to the local medical board at the hospital and explain what you planned to do? Don’t you need initially to back such experimental research up with rats or other laboratory animals?
Janet Ryan:
Reporter:
Janet Ryan: Yes.
Reporter: Doctor Ryan, did you ever consider removing the baby from the computer?
Janet Ryan: Yes, about two years ago and again last December, Josh’s tiny heart stopped beating and he stopped breathing. We re-attached him, of course.
Reporter: This is Cathy Barker, of WUZR news, Somerville Massachusetts.
***
For the next week, pictures frequently appeared in the tabloids with the baby lying in a large crib. The child was tiny for a four year old. A slight swelling was seen in his eyelids and cheeks, giving the baby an artificial oriental appearance. His large eyes were open but he was looking off into the distance. The child’s chest was unusually large and barrel-shaped, the legs and arms were small.
***
Moderator: This is Right-Left, where we discuss and debate matters of interest to the country. Tonight is the case of Joshua Ryan. We have Monica Sommers, a noted liberal columnist from the Village Voice in New York City and Mark Chadwick representing the conservative point of view, he is the author of ‘We are Right.’ Let us begin:
Monica: You conservatives must be really of two minds about this issue. Here we have a woman who decided to carry her child and not get an abortion, to let him live with this disease which will eventually kill him. But having spared the child the merciful, quick death, instead of the lingering one, she tries to do something about it.
Mark: There is no abortion issue here Monica. This was never about abortion. Even you can see that. The issue is simple. Should a parent be allowed to illegally experiment on her own child? Look what happened, the child is worse off now than if they left the baby on its own.
Monica: You have no way to know if the baby wouldn’t have been comatose anyway. Or do we call you Doctor Chadwick? The mother took a chance to save the life of her only son. Isn’t that what you conservatives preach, saving a life?
Mark: How do I know the baby would be comatose? I’ll tell you how, by hooking the infant to electrodes and applying current, you fry the mind. She ran electricity straight into the baby’s brain. Do you remember the only other person who did that? It was Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. At least Frankenstein took the moral high ground not to perform such an operation on a new borne baby, his own child. At least Frankenstein experimented with cadavers and the dead brains of murders, not an innocent living newborn boy. Doctor Frankenstein was a saint compared to Doctor Ryan. The only person who was grievously brutalized was the little boy. The child should be forcibly extricated from his horrible, sick parents.
***
David: Dad, I’ll be home tomorrow, Phyl is closing down our apartment. I’ve started my plans. I think timing will be tight. I�
��m sending you a list of things to get. Can you send someone out for them?
***
Within the Division of Youth and Family Services Office in Somerville Massachusetts, a caseworker was talking to her manager in her small, crowded office. Files were spread across her desk and on top of her file cabinets. Yellow stickies had almost covered her monitor and phone.
“Robert, I don’t like it. The mother isn’t doing anything to hurt the kid. We have no right to remove the child from her.”
“Selma, my hands are being tied here. The mayor called me directly to ask me what we were going to do about it. He demanded action. I’m not given any choice.”
“Can’t you fight back? Christ, we have mothers on crack. I know. I sent you their lab reports, who you allowed to keep their children. Janet Ryan’s a loving and educated woman. This mother is doing all she can to save her baby. You want me to separate them? For what? You know we can’t pull the computer plug.”
“Selma, please, this is now out of my hands. It’s a three-ring circus out there. The Mayor’s phones are ringing off the hook. Ninety percent of his constituents want them separated. The mayor said you should take the police with you. Can you schedule it for tomorrow afternoon? I hope that we can find some loophole or something in the meantime. Maybe return the baby to his grandmother and loose our file on it in a year or two assuming the kid lasts that long.”
***
It was 8:30 AM in Cambridge Massachusetts. There were picket signs in front of the Lepto-Molecular Pharmaceuticals office building. One read, “Stop Dr. Frankenstein,” another “No Research on our Babies,” another “Unlimited Science is Evil”. Two Cambridge police officers barred the entrance.
A large black German Shepherd, sporting a grey bandana around its neck, came up to the door, whimpered, and started to scratch on it. One officer looked at the other, shrugged, and let the dog in. The dog ran up the stairs to the floor of the Lepto-Molecular offices and scratched on this door. A secretary opened the door and the dog began to bark. The abbreviated staff exited their offices to see what the strange noise was.
Bill Norris, the president of Lepto-Molecular Pharmaceuticals, exited his office. He was balding and had a slight paunch. “What’s going on here?” The barking stopped. The dog lay down on the floor and crawled on all fours, up to the man. On reaching him, the dog pulled a letter from under its bandanna, gave it to the man, turned, and walked to the door. A secretary opened the door, and the dog quietly disappeared down the stairs.
***
It was 8:30 AM in Somerville Massachusetts. A 40-year-old brunette was sitting by the kitchen table, seeing her world collapse. Her hand was stirring the sugar in her coffee cup. The cup was already cool. She knew that the world of public opinion was against her. “Now they’re calling me Dr. Frankenstein,” she muttered to no one. She had just turned off NPR who did a piece clarifying that Frankenstein was the doctor and his creation was only known as the Monster. Her life was crumbling. She was startled when she heard a ping on the porch door. Looking up, she saw a large blue and gold Macaw flying near the glass, tapping it with its beak and fly back a few inches. The large bird repeated this maneuver a few times. Dr. Ryan went to the porch door and opened it. “What’s wrong boy?” The large bird flew in. It landed on an iron kitchen chair and clearly said with a crisp English accent, “I have a letter for you Dr. Ryan”. It dropped a two-inch pellet holding a letter that had been clutched in its talons. “Please read it with your husband. It’s urgent.” The bird, dipped its head in a nod, and then flew out through the open door.
***
Both Janet and Sidney Ryan were talking on their phones to Bill Norris.
“Yes Bill, we may have gotten the same letter. Ours came by a carrier parrot. Strangest thing I ever saw. It was able to talk in complete English sentences. Ours letter says ‘Dear Drs. Ryan, I would like to have a conference call with you and Mr. Norris to solve your mutual problems. We are on your side. We really would like to help. We will call you both at 10 AM. Time is of the essence. It was then signed a friend, Martin Klein MD, CompuHead Industries P.S. Please burn this letter after reading it.’ ”
“This is Sidney, I’m on the phone too. Klein, why does that name sound familiar?”
“Sid, isn’t that the doctor who first published using nanotubes to do brain recordings twenty years ago?”
“That was it!” said Janet. “But I never heard what happened to him since. Do you think it’s the same person as the mystery letter author? We could listen to him. We have nothing to lose at this point.”
“All I can add,” said Norris “is that CompuHead is an expensive disk drive manufacturer. It’s not on the stock exchange. I don’t see this Dr. Klein mentioned at all on its site. They don’t do any medical research, as far as I could find out.”
“I, for one, want to hear what he has to say,” continued Norris. “I’m ready to close down tomorrow. The stock has bottomed.”
***
When Janet touched the letter to the stove’s flame, she let out a squeal of shock as it burst into a small fireball. Startled she let go and noticed that no ash remained from the letter. She wasn’t hurt. It reminded her of the flash that magicians use in their shows.
***
At exactly 10 AM the phone rang. Janet and Sidney picked up two extensions.
“Hello, I think we’re all here. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Doctor Martin Klein. I’m a friend. I have some bad news and some great news. The bad news is that this afternoon, at 2 PM the city of Somerville will be having a social worker and some policemen pick up your son. With all the reporters and wackos out there, you’ll have a very hard time running. The good news is first, I am your friend, even though we’ve never met. Although you have no real reason to, believe me when I say that I can completely empathize with your situation. Second, we can get you out to a place where you’re safe and we can talk. Finally, when we can talk I have an offer for safety for Joshua and the Ryans. I would like to buy you out Mr. Norris. Would twenty million dollars be an honest offer? The name and location of the laboratory would need to change, however the leadership and goals can be the same.”
Sidney asked, “Who are you?”
“I think you’re familiar with my research on carbon nanotubes. I’ve made some progress over the years. I think you’ll be startled when I share my findings. However, I’d like to postpone that until we get to a place where we can talk.”
Janet said, “Sid, I don’t know how many options we have. However, I’m willing to trust this man. I believe him when he says they will be bringing the police to take Josh. Almost everyone is against us. Did you hear the interview with the mayor? We need to run. One thing first, can we bring Corey with us?”
Martin hesitated, “Corey, who is Corey?”
Janet continued, “Corey Rogers is my best friend. She’s a veterinarian from the labs. She’s, ah, been with me from this beginning.”
Martin said, “You trust her completely with Joshua? She wouldn’t betray you … us here?”
“Yes”
Martin continued, “Okay, Bill is she at the lab? Can we pick you both up in 30 minutes? Take anything you want for a few days out of the office, but you won’t have time to pack. We’ll pick your wife up too, Bill. I expect we’re going to be away for a bit. The timing will be precarious.”
“We’ll pick Janet, Sidney and Joshua up in their house at 10:45 sharp. Here is the plan …”
***
Margaret Griffith had decided to picket this blasphemer with a number of other women from her church. Imagine making people completely different from the way God had intended. Her placard read, “In God’s Image, not your Toaster’s,” Trudy her girlfriend had written, “The Soul is not Downloadable”. They had attracted a number of news people in the last two days.
She noticed a large car with a “Papa Giuseppe’s” flag over the passenger’s side. It had a prominent rear deck spoiler. The driver, a young man with a baseball h
at, strange necklace with large black, glass beads, and dark sunglasses, rolled down the window, “Are you the Ryan’s?” The driver had a tee shirt that read ‘Uncle David’s Pick-up and Delivery’. The picture on the shirt was of a football player scooping up a ball, running, with his left hand out to block.
“Oh, no, THEY are in there.” Margaret pointed to the house. The boy, with a lopsided grin, rolled onto the driveway and exited the car. He went to the backseat and pulled out a pizza box, walked to the side door, and walked in. He left the doors open. A few moments later, he walked to the car, and started it. All of a sudden, a woman, and a man carrying a tiny child, ran to the car and entered the rear seat. The car was moving by the time the door closed.
A reporter, who was seated in his car, waiting to interview them, turned his car on, to give chase. As he started to move forward, all four tires blew. He quickly exited the car when he saw the four caltrops that had punctured his tires. A set of rocks by the tires also prevented his movement. Cursing, he called in the car’s description to his paper, but it was too late. He didn’t notice the large bird circling overhead giving command and control to the ground forces.
The Infinite when it was Two Digits Old Page 27
