[Book Four] Chapter 39: It’s a revolution

Chapter 39: It's a revolution

Rick was currently in his laboratory, finishing his check of the nanobots code. Everything seemed to be in order and he downloaded it into the nanobots. Taking his trusty injection gun he put inside a capsule of them with the right amount needed for mice. Taking one of the cute little rodents in his hand he was about to inoculate the nanobots when the door to his lab opened and a hurried Alec Ryder came in.

“Is it true?! Did you really create a cure for AEND?!”

Rick was frozen in his position, finger on trigger, observing the intruding man.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t…”
“Have barged in like a c-sec officer doing a bust in a drug den? No. Shessh, I almost injected myself.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine, my nanobots would have neutralized those ones but… Anyway, I’m about to test it. It’s not really a cure, more like a procedure to deal with the eezo particles. Well… right now it’s just dealing with cancerous cells but it’s more or less the same thing. You can take a seat if you want to watch.”
“Thank you.”

Alec quieted down and sat in one of the chairs at the desk in the room. Meanwhile Rick injected the nanobots in the mouse and put it in the empty transparent container on his right. He then discarded the ‘bullet’ in his gun, loaded another, picked another mouse, injected it to and repeated the process until ten of them were inoculated. He removed his working gloves and went to sit next to Alec and in front of the terminal screen where he activates the nanobots.

As soon as they were alive they sent signals to the terminal, most notably an echography from the inside of the mouse about their bodies. Both men could follow their journey to the rodents’ small brain.

“What do the mice have?”
“The white something akin to alzheimer. The gray, tumors.” Rick replied.
“So, the bots are either healing the damaged neurons or removing the dangerous ones?”
“Pretty much, yeah. Though healing is… very literal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lost information is lost information. You can’t get it back. So yes, the neurons should be functional again but they could be brand new, a clean slate.”
“I see.” Alec replied with a grieving tone.
“Thankfully, much information is spread on multiple neurons. The loss may not be total. I’m sure you’ll get back your wife and make new memories.” Rick said and Alec turned towards him in shock. “Don’t look at me like that. Your dramatic entrance told me everything I needed to know. Had she passed away you wouldn’t have been in such a hurry. She’s in stasis, right?”
“Yes, she is. I… lied to everyone and said she was dead. It was very difficult for my kids and when she collapsed… I…”
“Faked her death so they could move on and start to live happier lives while you kept her in stasis in the hope that a cure could be found here.”
“Yes…” he confessed guiltily.
“Don’t feel guilty, you protected your family the best way you could.”
“Would you have done the same?”
“I would have told my children the truth about putting her in stasis. I never lie to them. I may not tell them things or omit things when they ask but I don’t lie.”
“Omitting things is considered a lie.”
“I considered it the smart way to differentiate smart people asking the right questions from idiots asking the wrong questions. If they want to know everything they should ask precise questions, if they do not it’s because they’re not that interested in the subject and only have themselves to blame.”
“Interesting perspective.”
“That fucked over lot of people and made me plenty of enemies, so take it with a pinch of salt.”

“I can imagine.”

They waited thirty minutes before the nanobots sent a signal informing them that their work was done. Every mouse was alive which was a very good outcome. The gray ones had all their tumors removed with precision and the bots started breaking down the wastes. Only time would tell if the brain would create new cancerous cells or produce healthy new ones. The white ones cells seemed to have been stimulated. If the bots believed a cell could be saved they tried to revitalize it otherwise they removed it.

“Okay, the nanobots do properly what I designed them to do. The question is: is it effective?”
“They are all alive so far.”
“Yes so it’s a good sign but can they still do what they originally could or are they staying the way they were when sick. Especially the gray ones, some neurons were dead and may not be replaced.”

“You do realize that you may have effectively cured cancer and not just AEND if that works?”
“...No?” Rick replied not having thought about that at all.

It was a chuckling Alec amused at the absurdity of the situation that left the lab with hope for his wife.

____________________________________________________________

It turned out, three months later, that Rick had actually cured cancer. Mouse cancer that is but the procedure would be no different from any other organics so odds were high that it was also the case for everyone and everything.

Even Arianna joined her mother and Aunts when they all facepalmed at his stupidity for not noticing the medical revolution Rick has done by simply focusing on the cure of one single disease.

“He cured… cancer.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Not just one but all types of them.”
“Seems like it.”
“Commander, if I ask him to find a cure to receding hairline do you think he would find a way for humans’ lifespan to reach a thousand years on the way?”
“Eeeeeh…..”
“Forget it. I was joking but thinking about it, this lunatic may very well do that.”
“At this point, sir… Probably.”
“Anyway… The council officially rejected his application for sentient trials and the alliance will naturally follow that decision. We cannot provide patient names afflicted with AEND. However if some good people somehow found themselves in contact with him and are volunteering then it’s out of our hands.” Hackett said and sent a list of names through the transmission making Jane grin with her status as a spectre she could request that list and nobody could say anything. “The consequences are on them.”
“That and technically Andromeda is not part of council space. Their laws don't apply here beyond the colonized worlds. Certainly not on the Cassiopeia which is… Well…It doesn’t belong to any species but since it belongs to Rick and he’s Terminus affiliated… The council seems to forget that.”
“Then there is no problem for those trials on your side.”
“None sir.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Commander, but the council has changed and not for the best. Lindholm aside, the three other species’ councilors are not fond of Wald. They do not like him doing whatever he wants.”
“Rick suspects that the pirates raid at the beginning of the year was an attempt from one of them or at the very least a politician, to take over the Cassiopeia and control the travel between galaxies.”
“And since that failed they started building a Mass Relay on your side. Many people are not happy about that. It’s a lot of money and resources for something that is not necessary and that could be used elsewhere. Between his status of hero and his reputation for being a philanthropist, first with Celeste Academy then with the BLUEs and YELLOWs your brother is rather popular among the masses. They don’t think he would block the possibility of going back to the Milky Way.”
“They’re right about that. I think the councilors are just greedy politicians like Udina was and those megalomaniacs can’t stand not being at the top. Yet one word from their government and they are replaced. Perhaps a clandestine summit would help? Because if the council is annoying Rick too much…”
“He’ll crush them, that would be chaos.”
“Actually, his plan is to cut off the sales of any product from his company in the Milky Way in Council space.”
“That will paralyze the whole galaxy and shut down the economy.”
“He said that there are two ways it can go but the results would be the same. Either the council and governments raise arms against him…”
“Stupid decision considering the Cassiopeia alone could wipe out a whole fleet.”
“And the Terminus clans would not stay idle.. The second is people would simply rebel against the council and take it down. Either way…”
“He wins, they lose.”
“Yes. Though he doesn’t know what to do with the Alliance. He knows that parliament aside it doesn’t support the current politics of the council regarding him but he can’t play favorites either.”
“That’s for our side to figure out what to do.”

The exchange finished with those words and with a last ‘Hackett out’, the Fleet Admiral’s hologram disappeared.

____________________________________________________________

In March of the year 2211, Rick entered a hospital room with Arianna in tow. There he met the very first patient of the trials, a woman who had been honorably discharged from the Navy because of AEND. Her husband was sitting at the side of her bed holding her hands. He was doing his very best to not break down into a crying mess while she, despite being tired and weakened, still had a fire going in her eyes. Polite greetings were exchanged and Rick went right into the heart of things.

“Do you know why you’re here? Did anyone tell you?”
“Not really, no.” replied the woman.
“We were told that Lana would be transferred to a hospital in Andromeda that would help her with what she had. A cure for AEND” said the husband.
“Well… That’s not wrong though the cure is untested on humans yet.”
“You want me to be your guinea pig.” stated the wife.
“Absolutely not.”
“I want you to be cured. And you, Mister husband, please stay quiet, it’s your wife's decision.”
“What?!” the man exclaimed but was ignored by Rick fixing with his eyes the woman who stared back.
“The cure has been tested plenty of times in the lab on diverse non-sapiens species. All survive with no complication that we could find.”
“So some may exist without your knowledge.”
“No, we know of them, we just couldn’t verify them. Difficult to check the memories of a mouse, a chimpanzee or a guinea pig. You may be healed, but you may not recover what you already lost memory wise. You may be a totally different person. A very healthy one but without your memories, different.”
“I see…”
“Are there any risks?” the husband asked.
“Always, it wouldn’t be a trial run otherwise.”
“What are they?” the patient inquired.
“Well, permanent or temporary memory loss, mobility, language, sense, frying of the nerves…”
“And you want my wife to be your test subject knowing all that?!”
“I’d prefer dying, thanks.”
“Oh! It’s in the package too, but since you’re already dying anyway, I thought it unnecessary to mention.” he replied with a smirk.

The husband nearly blew up a gasket at that and Arianna looked darkly at her father. The woman simply laughed at his attempt at humor.

“Honey?”
“So I have a choice between an agonizing and humiliating death. 100% Or possibly a cure that could heal me completely, kill me, make me a vegetable, a para or tetraplegic  or erase my memories.”
“Worth it isn’t it?”
“Totally. Where do I sign, when do I start?”
“Honey!”
“Micheal. I’d rather take a chance that goes on like this.”
“But… They may find a cure! One ready that works.”
“Fat chance of that. AEND is a very very rare disorder. So rare and so complex that the amount of money needed to fund any kind of research would never be made back. People are not searching for it because it’s not profitable.”
“And yet you made a cure.” noted the woman.
“It’s more of a nano chirurgical procedure than a cure actually but yes  I did. I have the money for it.”
“Why?”
“Would you be disappointed if I say that I was bored and I heard of AEND and thought ‘that’s a challenge for me’ ?” he answered and made the woman laugh.
“You’re Rick Wald.”
“I am.”
“Who?”
“I’m the man.” was his explanation and the husband was even more confused.
“Honey, don’t worry I’m in good hands.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Here the datapad with the contract. Your whole medical bill is handled by us.  When I mean whole, I mean ever since you were diagnosed with AEND to your getting out of here healthy as can be. We’re also paying you for being a test patient. As the first you even get a ten % bonus. If something happened to you however, your husband can’t sue us.” he said and presented a datapad to the woman.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”

She took a minute to read the very short and explicit contract and satisfied with it she signed it.

“When do we start?” she asked.
“Right now. Arianna, go ahead.”
“Your assistant is doing the procedure, not you? Isn’t she a bit young? Is this legal?” inquired the husband suddenly panicked.
“She’s not my assistant but your wife’s actual doctor. I’m not doing it because I’m not a doctor and that would be illegal.”
“You’re not a doctor?!”
“I didn’t even finish elementary school so being a doctor... Arianna, however, is the youngest graduate from Celeste Academy and doctor to date.”
“I graduated as an expert in xenobiology and x eno medicine ten years ago at fourteen.” the redhead said as she put on the table the small case she was holding on the bed.

Opening it she picked up an injection gun loaded with a bullet dose of nanobots.

“You’re her daughter… and his.” Lana said with a smile.
“I am.” replied Arianna in kind.”
“Daughter of who?” asked the husband confused at his wife recognizing the woman.
“Honey… Nevermind, I’ll tell you later.”
“I’m going to inject you with nanobots. They will reach your brain, remove every particle of eezo there and heal as much damage as possible. In this dose there is also a powerful narco agent to put you under.”
“Will that be long?”
“Mice got one hundredth of the dose you’re going to get and they were done in thirty minutes so… An hour and a half on average? It may be more or may be less, it depends on the amount of Eezo particles in your brain.”
“Okay…I’m ready.” said Lana as she squeezed her husband’s hand.

Arianna nodded and injected the dose in her neck. In less than twenty seconds the woman was asleep. Father and daughter sat down in the visitors chairs that were free and looked up at the wall above Lana. Michael found that weird.

“You’re just waiting?”
“We’re monitoring her vitals and what is happening in her head.” replied Arianna as Rick pointed to the wall.

Turning his head and looking up, the man could see a bunch of numbers and a representation of a brain  all in white with some areas with dark blue dots and others with green ones. The later were at first forming a big group but spread to reach the dark blue ones.

“Green are the nanobots and dark blue the eezo particles?”
“Yes.”

They sat there in silence, their eyes never leaving the display on the wall. Bit by bit the dark blue disappeared, replaced by gray then by white until finally the whole image of the brain was white with green dots everywhere.

“1H 33M 29s. Not bad for an estimate.” Rick said as Ariann stood up from her chair and picked a bullet dose from the case. This time it was green unlike the white she had used previously.

“To wake her up.” She said to the husband as she approached Lana’s neck and inoculated her with the counter-argent of the narco one.

Lana woke up after a minute, a bit groggy and Arianna did what all doctors loved to do: blind people with a pen light to check the responsibility of the pupil to see if someone was home. There was.

“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“You’re…”
“In a hospital.”
“Yes. Do you know your name?”
“Lana Travis.”
“What day is it?”
“Monday.”
“The date?”
“March 15th 2211.”
“Are you married?”
“To Micheal Travis. It’s been eight years.” she replied and Micheal nodded in confirmation to Arianna.
“How do you feel?”
“... I feel… Different. I can’t exactly point it out but… Lighter? I don’t have any headache anymore.”
“Are you feeling some pain anywhere or just uncomfortable?”
“No… Wait… I feel a bit… tingly? From my neck to my extremities. It doesn’t hurt but it’s like… the blood is rushing back into part of my body that has become numb because I fell asleep on it.”
“Okay.”
“Is it bad?”
“I believe it’s just the new neurons sending proper information through the nerves. We’re going to test that in a moment but I don’t think it’s anything serious. The nerves were not used properly for a while so they’re just… surprised at working perfectly again you could say. Anything else, Lana?”
“I feel… My senses it’s like they’re on high alert. Especially my nose. I can smell…lavender and vanilla and…mint? You’re wearing Le Mâle, Mister Wald?”
“I do. It was a gift.”
“Le Mâle?” inquired Michael.
“It’s a very popular perfume for men. My father used to wear it for important occasions.” answered Lana.
“I see. So either the nanobots fixed the neurons better than ever and your senses are answering in kind or your senses have been dulled so much that now that they're functioning properly it’s like they’re super charged.” Arianna said and noted that on her datapad. “We’re keeping you for a week, to make sure that everything is alright. After that it's a weekly check up for two months.”
“And after that?”
“The usual check up time in the navy, every six months.”
“I can… I can fly again?”
“If everything is alright, I don’t see why not.”
“Thank you. Both of you.” Lana said with a happy smile and tears falling down her cheeks.

Rick and Rianna said their goodbye and left the couple alone.

“Who were they? You seem to know them.”
“She is Arianna Shepard, daughter of Commander Jane Shepard.”
“As in…”
“Yes, THE Commander Shepard. And he’s her father, Rick Wald, you know him as the slayer.”
“THE SLAYER?!”
“Yes honey, your idol but without his helmet.”
“...”
“...”
“You think he would give me his signature if I ask? You know I’m a huge fan.”
“Honey, you didn’t even know his name.” she replied flatly and he had the decency to blush in embarrassment.