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Five years earlier.
“How are they doing?” Ronald Chow asked his brother Drake from his wheelchair.
“Is this really necessary?”
“Do you want me to die?”
“Of course not. But kidnapping!”
“This new blood will cure my Progeria.”
“You cannot be sure. You have spent a fortune on that new facility and the doctors have already told you there is no cure. Why not just enjoy what life you have got left?”
“Life, what life. Have you any idea what this is like to live in a body that was supposed to a young man's and not this derelict old man I am now. You have all your youth to look forward to, I on the other hand have nothing. The creatures in there have my future in their blood, and they will save me one day.”
“Okay brother, I get it. What do you want to do next?”
“The facility will be ready next year. Then we can start the process.”
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One Year later.
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“Thank you for coming and spending the day with me at my new facility.” Ronald Chow said to Brian and Casey Smith. “Was it everything I promised you?”
“The place is amazing. One question though. The sample you gave us to look at, where did you get it?”
“Ah, I see you are impressed. At this stage of our meeting let me just say that is the tip of a large iceberg and there will be many more wonders for you to discover, if you accept the job offer.”
Ronald Chow had been looking for genetic scientists for the last year to try to unlock the DNA in the blood and find a way for it to cure himself. After six previous scientists all saying the same thing, that it cannot be done yet with the science available, these last two were his only hope.
“Please, take a seat.”
Brian and Casey followed Ronald over to a seating area. Brian and Casey sat, as Ronald manoeuvred himself in his wheelchair in front of them.
“As you can see, I have Progeria. I have managed to acquire a sample of blood that will, I hope, cure me. You two seem like you could unlock those secrets in the sample and give me what I need. My life back.”
“It’s possible, but it would take years of study and countless testing.” Casey replied.
“Then there are the samples. It needs to be fresh. I assume you have a fresh sample to work on every week.”
“Whatever you need will be provided for. But you are saying it is possible?”
“Yes. As you may know we have been working on sequencing DNA to eradicate certain diseases for a while now and are close to unlocking the holy grail, if you will. But the sample you gave us its... I am not sure how to say this... superhuman blood! Is it synthetic?”
“I must say I am impressed. You two are the first to notice the difference. The big question is, would you like the job? There is only one thing I ask. This is a top-secret project, and you will have to sign a declaration to say you will under no circumstances talk about what we do here at Palmer industries. On the plus side, you will be funded for the rest of your lives.”
“I don’t know what to say. Casey, what do you think?” Brian asked, more confused than ever, but excited at the prospect of furthering their knowledge beyond anything they had ever been able to up till now.
“Please, let me leave you two alone for a while to talk it over.”
Ronald left them alone and left the room. He continued down the corridor to check on his two subjects.
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“What do you think Casey?”
“I think we should leave and never come back here.”
“Are you crazy. Have you seen the equipment in that lab?”
“Yes, but this guy gives me the creeps. Progeria my ass. He is just some old goat who wants his youth back. We can't do that so why lie to him.”
“I know that. But look at the bigger picture here. We could advance our research further in a year than we could in ten at that crappy institute. They will not even pay for sodding toilet paper. Just imagine what we could do here.”
“I know you are excited Brian, but I just don’t know. This all seems wrong. And no doubt illegal.”
“Don’t be like that. This is what we have wanted all along and now we have a chance to really do something special.”
“It’s on your head Brian. I will tell you this though, the first time I get any indication that this is illegal. You are on your own.”
“Stop worrying.”
“One of us has to, and where did he get a sample like that?”
“Details, details. Look okay, I admit it seems odd, but let us just work here for a while and see.”
“I don’t know. It seems risky.”
“What risk. We are just two scientists working on a project. What is wrong with that?”
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Ronald swiped his pass into the nursery room. He went over to the observation window and looked in on his two subjects. His brother Drake came through to him.
“How are they doing?”
“I think we shouldn’t take any more blood from the girl for at least a week.”
“And the boy?”
“He is strange. The tumours are repairing themselves at an astonishing rate. Maybe in a year he will be fully normal, apart from the rapid growth, which they both seem to be going through, they are doing well.”
“Have you worked out a ratio for that?”
“From the measurements, I would guess they are developing at three times the normal growth rate.”
“Is their learning capacity accelerating?”
“Yes. The girl is already speaking fluently, and the boy is a little behind.”
“Good. Keep pushing that forward. I want to see how far we can go with their brain development. It might be useful in the future.”
“Have the new candidates for the position proved any better than the last ones?”
“I think we have our researchers, so get more blood samples ready.”
“We need to be careful. We have taken way too much blood already.”
“I don’t care, just do it.”
Ronald left and made his way back to Brian and Casey.
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“Quiet, I think he is coming back.” Casey said, as they both sat back in the chairs.
Ronald came into the room, hoping his search was over. His time was limited and the need to get this next phase underway was already taking too long. His own body was telling him that he would be lucky if he had two more years left at his rate of decline, so everything was hanging on these next few minutes.
“Have you come to a decision?” Ronald asked, as he approached the two nervous scientists.
“Yes. We will.” Brian blurted out.
“Brian! We will think about it.”
“Time really it against me here, so I hope you do not take too long. I do have other people to see today!” Ronald said, bluffing.
“We will take the job.” Brian blurted out again.
“Brian. We said we will think about it.”
“If we think about it, the jobs won’t be here tomorrow.” Brian said, through gritted teeth.
“Good, that is settled then. Follow me, and we will organise your passes and sort out the paperwork.”
Ronald left the room and an annoyed Casey followed behind Brian. She was steaming mad and just wanted to get this done and get out of here, so she could rip into Brian. Her stomach was telling her this was a mistake, and they were now signing up for something they essentially had no idea what this all was about. Or worse, was for!
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Two years later.
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“Are you ready for this Ronald?”
Ronald was strapped onto a bed. He
was now hooked up to a machine that would allow his blood to be replaced with the new BX-13 formula. His time was running out and it was simply a case of try the new blood or die. He was weak and judging by his slowing heart rate over the last few days, he only had hours left to live. Casey pulled Brian over to one side and wanted to voice her concerns at what they were about to do.
“We should do more testing?” Casey said, with a real worry they were about to commit murder.
“Test. Test for what? We have done everything we can to ensure this is as good as it is going to be. He will die anyway, so what have we got to lose?”
“Everything is what we will lose. And what if the Police get involved?”
“Then we tell them the truth. This is all Ronald’s decision. He is out of time, and we have a job to do.”
“Why are you so cold about all this?”
“I’m not. I just do not see the problem. This could give him his life back.”
“You know what I mean. Where does all this blood come from? We still have no idea and my bet he has a person here he is using to take the blood from. You are not telling me you have not thought about that!”
“Of course, I have. But I did not want to admit it to you that... anyway. Why have you left it until now to tell me this. We have been here for two years now and you leave it until we are about to try the blood!”
“I wasn’t sure how to talk to you about it. You seem obsessed with this project.”
“You have never wanted this job. Have you?”
“No. I hate it here and all this security and places we are not allowed to go, just makes me think he is up to no good.”
“Let’s just go ahead for now and see what happens.”
“No. I cannot watch. I will be in the lab.”
Casey stormed off out of the room, leaving Brian to continue with the blood transfusion.
“Is everything okay Brian?”
Over the last two years they had all got to know each other quite well and went out socially. In an offbeat sort of way, they all had a connection. Blood. New ideas and how they could make this work had been bounced around in many conversations and it was always a good way to connect. Ronald understood this better than anyone else because he had the most to lose. Ronald had promised them both that no repercussions would come to them if things did not go well, and they would be exonerated from any blame. He had even gone to the lengths of getting solicitors to formally state that everything was his choice and had even rigged the blood transfusion process so that he was in control.
“Yes. It’s Casey again. She is just worried. She thinks we are rushing and should do more testing.”
“I understand Brian. I know I have put you two in a very awkward position and I do apologise, but this had to be done.”
“I know. Shall we begin?”
“Come tomorrow and this will be all a thing of the past Brian.”
“I hope so. You know you just press this button on the remote to begin. If for any reason you feel it is not working or there is any pain, then press this next button for pain relief.” Brian said, showing Ronald the control switches on the remote control he was holding.
“Wish me luck.”
Brian stood watching as the new blood began to flow slowly down the tube in Ronald's right arm and his blood begin to emerge from the other tube in his left arm.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, it feels weird, nice even. Like a refreshing shower.”
“Good. Just remember the pain relief if you need it.”
“No, I feel...”
Suddenly the heart monitors alarm was ringing out and Ronald began to convulse. His body began to jerk all over the bed and as Brian rushed to try to help him, everything suddenly went back to normal. Brian was frozen to the spot not knowing what to do for the best. He looked at the heart monitor and Ronald's heart rate were slowing to a normal eighty over sixty. As he continued to watch, as it came down to sixty beats per minute.
“Ronald. Ronald.” Ronald was silent with his eyes closed. His body rhythms were normal, but he was unconscious.
Casey had heard the noise of the alarms and had come rushing back, expecting the worse. She burst through the door to something she never expected.
“Is he?”
“Dead, no. If fact his body is doing well. I think it may have worked.”
Casey came running over to Brian and flung her arms around him.
“I am so relieved. I really thought we were going to kill him.”
“Kill the great Ronald Chow. I told you not to worry.” Ronald said, in a weak but alive voice.
They both rushed to his side, wanting to know how he was feeling.
“So, do you feel different?” Brian asked, eager to know if they had devised a new blood that could potentially save more people.
“Tired is all I feel, but yes, I do feel different, but very tired.”
Brian and Casey undid the restraints and left Ronald to rest.
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Over the next two days Ronald slept. On the third day he was able to sit up in bed and eat. On the fourth day he managed to get out of bed and walk for the first time in years. His progress astonished Brian and Casey and within a week he was fully mobile. As the days passed by, Ronald not only became stronger, but his whole body and skin underwent a complete transformation. He got his youth back. His brother Drake could not believe how this was possible, and there had to be a downside. Nothing was this perfect. After carefully watching and documenting his improvements, and after another round of testing, the news that they hoped for was not what they expected. After the first month, Ronald’s blood had no signs of any illness. This they thought would continue. Then after three months the test results were in. The Progeria was back.
“How are we going to tell him?” Casey asked.
“I don’t...”
Just then Ronald walked into the lab, expecting good news. With the look Brian and Casey were giving him, this was not the news he was expecting.
“It’s back, isn't it?”
“Yes. We are so sorry Ronald.”
“What do you think went wrong?”
“We will do more testing. What seems to be happening is your body accepts the new blood up until a certain time. Then the disease fights back. We cannot be sure, but with think the new blood has not fully adapted to your body.”
“How can that be? I feel fine and stronger than I have ever done.”
“It won’t last long. The decline will be as quickly as the regeneration was.”
“You are saying I will be back to where I was in three months?”
“Yes, maybe less.”
“We will just have to do it again.”
“That’s the problem. We are not sure how often your body will accept the procedure.”
“What choice do we have?”
“If we could fix the DNA permanently, it should stop this decline. We just do not know how to do that right now. It was a lucky guess we have got this far already.”
“Then you must continue to find the answer. Money is no object.”
“We know, you have been more than generous. But we just are not sure how much further we can go without a test subject to extract all the necessary elements to fix the DNA into a permanent state.”
“What if I said to you, I have a subject?”
“We did kind of work that out.” Brian said, as Casey was too nervous to talk to Ronald.
She knew there had to be one and really did not want to know any more than what she had too. If Ronald were prepared to go this far, then how far would he got to keep them quiet if they found out too much.
“Let me show you.”
Casey looked over to Brian and shook her head just enough so that Ronald could not see her gesture to Brian that she did not want to know.
“You stay here and work on the blood, and I will go with Ronald.”
Ronald sensed the tension Casey was giving off and decided to let it go for now. He had long suspected Casey was not so keen on being here but was glad Brian had stayed focused and was clearly the one he needed to finish the work before he dispatched them both. For now, he would let it go, but if Casey was going to be a problem, then she would have to be dealt with.
Brian and Ronald left the lab and made their way down the corridor. Ronald led him to a room he had never been to before and was not over keen to show Brian what he had been hiding from them both, but if he was ever going to be fully cured, this was going to have to be done.
“I like you Brian. I think we have a bright future together, you and me. We could do great things here you and I.” Ronald said, as he held the door handle. “You may not like what you are about to see, but you have to believe me when I say this that we have not harmed these two in any way.”
Brian looked at him. Did he say two!
“Two people! You have two subjects with this blood you have been giving us?”
“Yes, and they are incredibly special. Let me show you.”
As they entered the room a young girl and boy were both sat at computer screens behind the glass window they were now standing at.
“What are they doing?”
“They are showing me the future. Guess how old they are.”
“I... ten, eleven at a guess.”
“Not even close. They are nearly three years old.”
“How? I mean... What have you done to them and how did you get them?”
“A sad story really. They were orphaned and destined to have unhappy lives going from foster parent to foster parent. I decided to adopt them and that is when we learned they were special.”
“Not even I am that stupid. What is their real story?”
“You are no fool Brian. I can see that. It is fanciful yes, but nonetheless true. I have adopted them and now I care for them. They are unique and let me just say they are showing us the future. With you at my side we could do great things. Image all the people you could save with what we now know. Once you perfect the blood, it would be like an act of god. Wouldn’t that be worth the small price I ask of keeping this secret.”
“What makes you think I will tell anyone?”
“I think Casey maybe not ready for this yet.”
“She is just worried we are doing this illegally.”
“There is nothing illegal here, but we cannot tell the world about this until we are ready. There are many people out in the world that would kill for a small part of what we know.”
Brian was not sure. He knew he was on the verge of something so great that it would indeed change everything the world understood about science, but could he hold onto it long enough to convince Casey what they were doing was bigger than the both of them. Brian looked on through the window at these two children typing away on computers. They both suddenly looked around and stared at the window they seemed to be looking through.
“Don’t worry Brian. They cannot see through the one-way glass.”
“Do they know we are here? Because they are looking straight at us.”
“They know a lot of things I have yet to understand. I told you they are special, and their gifts are getting stronger. Who knows where we will be in two- or three-years’ time when they are expected to reach their teenage years?”
“How quickly are they growing?”
“We guessed it to be three, maybe even four times the usual growth rate. It fluctuates a little.”
“Wow. And I take it you are not going to tell me the truth on how you got them!”
“You know I cannot tell you everything Brian. In the real world I could have you killed for asking me to many things, but I like you. We have a common interest you and me. We are making history here and I want you to be a part of that history.”
“I do enjoy my work.”
“I know this. Therefore, you must stay and finish what you started and come into the future with me. We will do great things me and you and now you have real subjects to work with, I am sure you will find all the answers you seek.”
“You do know that in two months you will have to have the blood transference again.”
“I do Brian. You worry about finding the answers to unlock the blood and I will worry about the rest. Do we have a deal?”
Brian shook his head, not sure how he was going to explain all this to Casey. Now he had seen the two subjects, everything had changed. Something in Ronald's tone of voice told him he was not going to be able to back out of this now and Brian had the feeling that if he did, he may not be alive for long.
“I will talk to Casey and make sure she knows what is at stake here.”
“Good choice Brian. You will not regret this, I promise you.”
The calmness in Ronald's voice gave Brian no comfort and just added to the thought he was now at the devil’s beck and call. Casey would never agree to this and Brian was now thinking he should not tell her anything more than she needed to know. She was a worrier at the best of times and knowing that if they decided to leave the job, they might end up killed, was not something he could burden her with.
For the next two years, Brian kept what he has seen that day to himself. Casey pretended everything was okay, but she knew this was never going to last and that Ronald was never going to let them go. On the surface he was professional, calm, and friendly. Beneath all that, Casey knew he was a ticking time bomb, and as the more time passed, and they got ever closer to unlocking the DNA keys, she knew their time was running out. Casey never asked how or where the flesh and bone samples kept coming from, and Brian never offered her the answers, but as the time passed, their relationship deteriorated, and it felt like it was about to explode. Something that for both was overdue.