Chapter 3

Eitan mowed through the granola and milk that Nikki put down in front of him. They had gotten home late from his thirteenth birthday party last night, which had been a blast. Nikki and Joseph reserved the ice cream store for Eitan and his friends. They served the Galaxy Sundae with twenty-five different scoops of ice cream topped with nuts, cherries, sprinkles, gummy bears, and chopped candy bars. Then some of the other parents pulled out a huge screen and a gaming console for a mega-battle in a galaxy far, far away. “Best birthday ever,” Eitan declared as he lurched out of the car with a swollen belly of goodness.

He did not expect to wake up refreshed and ready for school, but he was hungry. As he munched on half a banana he shared with Akemi, someone knocked on the door. Nikki scowled as she rose to answer the door.

“Camille,” Eitan heard Nikki say, “So good to see you. What brings you by so early?” The answer was mumbled.

Sten cleared his throat and said in a whisper, “Five dollars on Akemi.”

“Five dollars on you,” Akemi hissed.

“Ten dollars on me,” Eitan said, his hands trembling. “I’m due.”

“It’s not like the first one, Eitan,” Akemi said. “I swear.”

Camille and Nikki walked into the kitchen. Camille was dressed as she always was, in a tailored business suit and all done up. “Eitan,” she said, “You look great. Life here really agrees with you. Sten, you are growing up before my eyes. Akemi, I will bring you a stick to keep the boys at bay; you are definitely going to need it soon.”

“Hi Camille,” they all said.

“Field trip?” Akemi asked.

“Escort duty,” Camille said. “Eitan, you can leave your books. You and I are going to the main campus this morning. Dr. Hobart wants to personally supervise today.”

Eitan heart was beating a mile a minute. “Aren’t second series usually given over at the hospital?”

“New series for you, something 2.1, I think. I’m guessing the real reason is that you got so sick after the first series that Dr. Hobart wants to keep a closer eye on you. Let’s go. Good to see you, Nikki.”

Nikki gave Eitan a hug and walked him to the door. Camille drove them the other way, away from his school and the village centre, to the helipad. Rotors spinning, the helicopter was ready when they arrived. The ride was loud and bumpy, but the earphones muffled most of the noise. They sped over mountains and valleys until the suburbs of Seattle began to appear. As the helicopter turned slightly north, a big fat building came into view.

As they were landing, Eitan could see the big signs hoisted across the street from the main entrance, declaring that nano was a sin against God. After touching down, Camille ushered Eitan through the door and down the stairs to a lift. Coming off the elevator, the smell of everything sterile gave Eitan pause. Camille gave him a little push and they walked to the desk. A nurse in scrubs greeted Eitan and introduced herself. He was not paying attention though. His heart was beating hard, and he was sweating again.

The nurse took his hand, leading him to a small changing room. He stripped down and stepped into the shower, embarrassed. The nurse put on gloves and pulled out big sponges and a stiff brush from the drawer. She washed him down thoroughly, scrubbing every crack and crevice, nearly pulling every hair off, or so it felt. Then she took the brush and cleaned every individual nail.

Finally satisfied with her work, she turned off the nozzle and led him to the next room dripping wet. Fans blew warm air from every direction as he held his feet apart and his arms out. Then a contraption ran a red light over his skin followed by a blue light. The fans ran again.

After dressing him in a paper gown, the nurse escorted Eitan to a chair that looked like the one at the dentist, only bigger. He was only waiting a moment when Dr. Hobart came in with a crew of technicians dressed in airtight surgical scrubs.

“How are you doing, Eitan?” Dr. Hobart asked. “Did you enjoy your birthday party last night?”

“It was a lot of fun, sir,” Eitan said. He took a deep breath.

“I suppose you’re wondering why you’re here rather than at the village hospital, huh?”

Eitan said softly, “yeah.”

“When you had such a rough time with the first batch, I went back to the drawing board to see what might have caused such a strong reaction,” Dr. Hobart said.

“Akemi said that you said the more crap, er, junk you’ve been exposed to, the harder it is to get it out of your body.”

“She’s a smart girl, Akemi,” Dr. Hobart said. “The last time I let her in my lab on the class field trip, she arranged a scavenger hunt with items in the lab. Dr. Whitcomb nearly had a stroke, and I swear, we are still finding stuff she hid.”

“She would be very proud to know that fact,” Eitan said, despite himself.

Dr. Hobart chuckled. “Yes, let’s keep that datum between you and me. In any case, although you had a rough time, the results have been excellent, unusually good. I’m used to a good result, but you hit a new gold standard. So, I rejiggered the little buggers. Then Dr. Whitcomb, who was brought into my lab for a different expertise, developed some fascinating data on how nerve cells sense electricity, both inside and outside the body. I rejiggered again. After lots of testing, including other people, I want to give you this new Series 2.3.5. for your birthday. You’ve earned it, Eitan and I’m proud of you. Lay back. The first part is a slight prick of a needle and the next part is waking up in the recovery room.”

Before the doctor stopped speaking, Eitan felt a prick on the back of his hand. He looked down and saw the I.V. was already inserted and being taped down as he watched.

A woman at his side was sitting in a chair. She leaned over and said, “I want you to count backwards from 100.”

Eitan began counting as his sight blurred and all the sounds faded away.

A hand gripped his shoulder and squeezed, giving him a slight massage. Someone was calling his name from far away, which brought a smile to his face. Eitan’s eyes fluttered before he could open them fully, and when he did, he tried to stretch his muscles. His limbs were restrained though.

“M’what?” he mumbled.

“Hi Eitan,” a female voice said. “Wakey, wakey, there’s a cake to bakey.”

“Hmm, cake,” Eitan said. “I’m hungry. I’m tired.”

A pair of hands began to massage his arms while another pair was working of his calves. “That feels good,” Eitan said. “My fingers and toes are tingly.”

“Do they hurt?”

“Nope. Feels good and now my feet and hands are tingly too.”

Eitan heard Velcro being pulled apart. His legs were free and then his arms were free as well. The hands moved to his thighs and to his upper arms, which were now tingling too. Looking up and focusing his eyes, Eitan saw a hospital room with all sorts of machines and lights on his right and a doorway to his left. The man massaging his legs was dressed in green scrubs and a mask.

The woman working on his arms looked older and she had a big bosom. She smiled at him from behind her mask when she looked up from her task.

“This won’t get me out of my homework, will it?” Eitan asked, still feeling a bit woozy. The nurse reached and mussed his hair, shaking her head in response.

“I gotta pee,” Eitan said.

“Not a problem,” she said. “We inserted a catheter. You just let go and the pee will go down the tube.”

Eitan watched them work the rest of his muscles quietly. The longer he waited, the more awake he became. The room did not have a window, and when he turned his head, he did not see a clock anywhere.

“What time is it?” he finally asked.

“It’s 20:00 more or less,” the male nurse said, looking at the clipboard and making checkmarks.