Sarah adjusted her legs in the wheelchair. She had been released from the hospital less than a week after being admitted. Once the doctors determined they couldn’t offer her a cure and she was cleared from quarantine, her mother took over the quest for options. She had been in constant pain since she had woken up in the hospital. Every nerve was on fire, but Sarah was determined to stay positive, despite her pain.
“There really isn’t much we can do.”
Sarah sighed. This was the third doctor her mom had brought her to, and they had all said the same thing. Sarah had contracted a virus that was completely resistant to antiviral medication. It was a rare virus that she’d gotten while at school. One of her girlfriends had contracted the virus while on vacation but had only been a carrier. She didn’t have the specific traits that made the virus deadly, while Sarah was a perfect case. Lucky me , she thought as she recalled the words of the first doctor they’d met. He had told her the chances of the virus being deadly only applied to a small fraction of the population. Most people had a better chance of winning the lottery than experiencing anything more than minor cold symptoms. For Sarah, the virus was devouring her, at the cellular level.
“So that’s it? You won’t even try? The modern pharmaceuticals are making new cures every day,” Sarah’s mother said.
“Yes, but large corporations care about profits. There isn’t much profit in curing a disease that only affects a handful of people. However, I’ve been doing some research and I may have come up with a solution.”
Sarah perked up at this. None of the other doctors had offered anything other than condolences like she was already dead. “What kind of solution?”
“As you might’ve heard, nanobots are the cutting edge of science and are increasingly becoming a treatment option.”
Sarah’s mother sighed. “Yes, but they are incredibly expensive, and insurance doesn’t cover them. I’ve been down that road. The last doctor I spoke to was an expert in nano-medicine.”
Frowning, Sarah looked at her mother. The last doctor they’d visited had been some sort of hippie dippie naturopath guy. Had her mother been visiting other doctors without her?
“Normally that is true,” Dr. Harren said. “However, there is a company called Corton Industries that manufactures medi-pods with the latest in nano technology. They have a medical trial going on which has shown excellent results.”
Megan sighed. “Dr. Smith mentioned medi-pods. He said they weren’t a cure.”
“True. Nano technology doesn’t remove the virus from the body, but they can prevent the virus from killing the host. It isn’t a great option, but I’m afraid it is the only one that I know of.”
Sarah watched her mother wipe away a tear as she tried to keep it together.
“Isn’t that just going to prolong her pain?”
“As long as she’s in the medi-pod she can be sustained, and pain free. The part that is different about these medi-pods is that Corton owns a video game company and has integrated a game into the medi-pod technology. Sarah, what do you think about living the rest of your life in a video game?”
Sarah chuckled but there wasn’t much conviction to her laugh. “Considering every other doctor has basically told us that I’m dying and there is nothing they can do about it, a video game sounds pretty good. Tell me more.”