Chapter 14

John smiled. “A combination of factors. One was that the British Army encouraged education courses for its soldiers, and secondly my later butler training covered English social history, so that a top butler could converse intelligently with an educated master.

I found the history of medieval times fascinating, and use to read it in my spare time. One had a lot of spare time on operations. ‘Hurry up and wait’ is a very fair description, I can tell you.”

“Interesting. You are indeed an interesting man, Major Freeman. No wonder these two fell for you.”

“Thank you, Colonel, but I see it as having fallen for them. My wives are both wonderful women in their own special ways.”

Elizabeth noted, “You can see how he has a way with words, Colonel. Quite romantic, I found.”

“Indeed,” said the Colonel. “So, has he been romancing our Kathleen?”

Catherine burst into laughter, and Elizabeth explained with a smile, “No, we have been trying to throw him and her together. Kathleen told us she thought the world of him, and confided that she fancied being married to him, if we would allow it. We talked it over, and decided that once she was whole again, we would encourage it. We have only just got him to admit to fancying her. He was afraid we would be upset if he revealed that, but we told him it was okay for him to say it. That was a big step forward.”

John tried to look annoyed. “I AM here, ladies. There is no need to talk over me.”

“Well, Major. What then are your intentions towards my relative?”

John had not expected so specific a question.

He demurred, “I have promised to look at Kathleen seriously after she is restored to health. I want to find out how she feels, deep inside, and I want to know how and if she would get on with Elizabeth and Catherine, my loving wives. Their opinion is vital in that regard. No matter how entrancing Kathleen might be, no matter how enamoured I might be with her, these two come first, always.”

Mrs Kempe patted him on the shoulder. “Very good. Spoken like a properly married man. Now we have to get our transport organised.”

She went off to summon their chauffeur.

At the health centre, the radiographer was puzzled. “Doctor, you said the patient had undergone a recent operation, but the only scars I can see are years old, in my professional estimation.”

“Ah, that is because the patient underwent a new procedure, using nano-machines injected to the site. Think of it like keyhole surgery, but on a very, very, small scale.”

The radiographer, a man, was still dubious. “So what do we have as a previous image, to compare to the new results?”

The doctor proferred his phone, with the x-ray images on screen. The other man looked them over, grimaced, and said, pointing to the image, “A bit of a mess, there. Car crash, or a severe fall?”

“Car crash, I understand: about four or five years ago. America. Her family couldn’t afford the extensive surgery to put her pelvis together again. In Britain, where I came from, the question of cost of surgery would not have arisen, but in the USA, it is the be-all and end-all. Even with insurance, the cost would be well beyond what insurance would cover.

This time, the Colony is paying; or at least in a small way. The Personalia supplied the nano-machines and programmed them to do the task, so the Colony only has the facilities to pay for, and staff time: me and the nursing staff.”

“I see. Disgusting that a teenager had to suffer just because her family were not rich. Well, we will get her through the scanner and have a look at what it says.”

Kathleen was placed into the scanner, and her pelvic region examined by the machine. The radiographer perused the image that was derived from the scanning, and was confused.

He told the doctor, “Doctor, I see no sign of any operation. Her pelvis is perfectly normal according to this scan. There are no signs of earlier lesions; or of any pins or anything holding the bone fragments together until they knit. Are you sure we are dealing with the same patient?”

“I am just as astonished as you are, sir, but I can assure you this is the same patient. I have watched her throughout the procedure. It is almost like a miracle, but this was the work of nano-machines rebuilding the bone structure internally, from the broken fragments. The whole thing took about 24 hours total. I estimate that she should shortly be capable of walking normally, as soon as her body and balance get back in sync.”

The radiographer pointed out, “If this can be carried out on other patients, it will be a godsend for most of them. The cost will be slashed – no matter who is paying – and the time to get back to normal will also be reduced to almost nothing. What are the chances of this experimental procedure being turned into a routine practice?”

The doctor was thinking about that very point. “There is certainly potential for this to become a routine matter, if it can be extended to other bones. Just think of the number of broken bones in arms, legs, hips, shoulder blades, and so forth. Imagine if a broken arm can be healed in a couple of days!” He hesitated a moment, then added, “It should make no difference to your own profession. We would need to scan the patient before and after, to be certain things were satisfactory.”

There came a knock on the door, then a nurse poked her head in. “There is a group of people outside, asking for Miss Malone. Be warned: the group includes the Head of the Security Department.”

The radiographer blinked his surprise at such high-powered attendees, but the doctor knew who they were. “Thank you, nurse. They are expected. Tell them we will be out shortly.”

The radiographer raised his eyebrows in query, and the doctor informed him, “They are people who have a close connection with Kathleen Malone. The treatment was given in the Governor’s mansion, so Colonel Kempe is involved, though I am unsure why she is taking such a close interest in this girl.”

The radiographer nodded. “Well, let’s get Miss Malone wheeled out, so that I can get ready for the next patient.” He turned to escort her off the machine’s examination table, and discovered her fast asleep. He grinned to himself, knowing how relaxing that table could be.

“Wake up, Kathleen. It is time you were off home, and freed my machine for others to use. I swear that table is far too comfortable!”

Kathleen blinked awake. “Sorry, doctor. I don’t know what happened. The examination table is certainly wonderfully well padded.” She had assumed the radiographer was a doctor. She went to swing her legs off and stand up, but was restrained by the hands of both the radiographer and the doctor. The doctor insisted, “Wheelchair for you, Kathleen, until your balance is restored.”

The centre’s wheelchair was collected and Kathleen placed in it before she was wheeled out to the waiting area. John immediately appointed himself in charge of the wheelchair, and steered her out to the waiting vehicle. The chauffeur and he helped her into the front passenger seat, while the others crammed into the rear seats. They left the chair behind, to be collected by someone from the centre.

Kathleen said, “I think I have been cleared as fixed, but the doctor is worried that my balance may be affected by my new stance. I think he may be right, so can I please have John’s help when we get out of the car?” This was directed at Elizabeth and Catherine.

Elizabeth declared, “Of course, Kathleen. He is the best person for the job.”

The Colonel decided to reveal a fact. “Now that you have been helped, Kathleen, I believe I am able to tell you that it appears you are a relative of mine: second cousin, or similar.”

Kathleen was shocked at the revelation. “Really? We are related? Wow! Me related to the great Colonel Kempe? That is wonderful news.”

“As I could not do anything important that might be misconstrued as nepotism, I had to be careful of anything I did for you. I got you made a corporal, but you deserved that, anyway. Your post in charge of departmental supplies was a chance for you to show your abilities DESPITE your injury, and you performed that well, my girl. Well done.”

“Of course, Colonel, I appreciate that you could not directly do anything about my injury, but you helped in other ways, so thank you.”

“I had plans to have you recognised as a valuable member of our colony, then be able to send you to Earth for surgery at the expense of the Colony, but the Freemans short-circuited that plan. They found that The Personalia had a capability of internal bone repair using nano-machines, so I cooperated to enable that to happen here. I am delighted that it has worked, and you can now play your full part in the life of the Colony; though I am not sure what exactly your plans are now.”

Diane had decided not to reveal what she knew about Kathleen’s designs on John Freeman.

“Thank you for whatever you have been able to do for me, Colonel. I will not brag about it, but I appreciate it, ma’am. The Freemans have also been a great help.”

“Good girl. Major Freeman is a good man, as you should be aware by now.”

“It had occurred to me, Colonel, but it is nice to have your confirmation.”

The car arrived at the accommodation block where the Freemans and Kathleen were living at the moment. After seeing that Kathleen was safely home, supported by John and Elizabeth while Catherine dealt with the doors, Diane returned to the car and asked to be delivered to her office.

Getting there, she was hardly in the door before an aide collared her.

“Colonel, there is a message from the Governor, for you to call him as soon as you appeared. It seems you had switched off your phone.”

“Oh, yes. I did that at the health centre, to avoid interference with the equipment. I should have switched it back on. I’ll deal with the Governor now.”

She switched her phone back on and rang her husband.

“Hello, dear. Is there a problem, or were you just trying to find out where I was?”

Bob was ambivalent. “Not really, but it was unusual not to be able to get hold of you. Was there a fault with your phone?”

“No, I just switched it off at the health centre, so as not to interfere with the scanning machine.”

“Oh, that’s all right then. The other reason is that I have just had a mysterious call from The Personalia. They asked if I was okay with them offering more bone repairs with nanos. I beats me what they are talking about, so I just said I would have to consult before responding. Do you know what it is about?”

“Oh, yes. It must be the doctor pushing for more bone repair operations.”

“You have lost me, Diane, love. Clue me in, please.”

“Corporal Malone, dear. I realise you don’t know her, but she is a distant relative of mine, as I discovered. She arrived as an injured girl, with a shattered pelvis which she got through a car crash five years ago. The Personalia offered to do a repair job, using nano-machines, after the Freeman family spoke to them.”

“Freemans? Oh yes – the people whose wedding we went to? That guy, John, is quite a character, as I found at his stag night.”

“Right, dear. Kathleen was the bridesmaid; you remember, the girl with the walking aid?”

He said he remembered, so she went on, “That’s them. They have a great relationship with Kathleen, so when I heard they were planning an experimental operation to fix her pelvis, I got one of our guest rooms converted as a hospital unit.”

“Oh. That explains why there was some rushing around in the house for a day or two, but Ruth said to just ignore it, as it didn’t concern me. I assumed it was something she was organising. So it was you instead?”

“Yes, dear. The operation was a great success, and she was taken to the health centre for a CT scan to confirm the results. She is fine, just needs time to recover her balance for walking.”

“So explain about this call from The Personalia.”

“It must have occurred to the doctor supervising the operation that a similar operation could be done for other patients, so he must have called The Personalia to ask them to do more. That has led to The Personalia asking you about it, in case they were doing something you might have reservations about, or completely objected to, or whatever.”

“I see. That makes sense, of a sort. What do you think about it, yourself, Diane?”

“I would like more time to think about it, dear. It has potential, but it may not be as simple as the doctor assumes. For instance, do The Personalia have to specially programme nanobots for each operation? I wouldn’t like to have bone made up in the wrong part of the body; and who would control the process? And who would make money out of it? Does the procedure get offered on Earth, or just in the Colony? If just in the colony, that means shipping people with broken arms or legs or whatever here from Earth, which may be uncomfortable for them. These are just the points that come to mind at the moment.”

“I get you. I think I shall advise The Personalia that we need to go over a lot of details before offering a yea or nay to the idea. Thanks for your input, darling. How’s things with your pregnancy, today? You do seem to be a busy girl.”

“Oh, I am doing fine, dear. You concentrate on your work, and I will speak to you when we are home tonight.”

In the housing block, Kathleen was hanging on to John. Elizabeth frowned.

“Kathleen, much though you might enjoy clutching my husband, the target is to get you free-standing again and fully ambulant, so let him go, dear.”

Kathleen jerked away from John, as if he had become red-hot. She swayed slightly, but did not lose her balance. John grabbed her elbow to steady her, and she stopped swaying. Elizabeth spoke again.