Chapter 5: A Wobbly

Horti dragged herself to the breakfast table, looking disheveled and pale.

“Horti, it looks like you had a rough night,” said her father.

“Yup. I want to go with you guys but can’t face it. What if they can’t fix my burns? What if the old DNA is going to kill me? What is this old DNA, and will it turn me into a monster? What if the promise of treatment for my burns and a new leg is to suck me in. I will be there with my rotten prosthesis, stairs everywhere, and as a flat face, I will face cruel rejection.”

“Horti, we know how you feel and support your position. We are not pressuring you to go,” said Brendan.

“Here, I get what I call bland invisibility. I am small; no one sees me. My face is vanilla, not even tasty vanilla. I hide my prosthesis by wearing pants. There I will be a primitive who is stupid and ugly. Maybe they made me sick yesterday. Could they have seeded something awful in me so I must accept treatment and leave Earth?”

“Horti, are you feeling sick?” Asked Vivian.

“I was in the medical pod for hours. Nothing much was done that I can see. What experiments did they do on me to look at my freak DNA?” Horti asked. “I don’t know if I am sick. I feel like a dog’s breakfast.”

“Horti, I understand you are fearful. That is why I didn’t want to push you to come with us,” said Brandon. “I know you felt overwhelmed after your accident. The Jimmy and work problem only added to your stress. Everyone was trying to push you to go. They are your friends and would love you to join them.”

“Last night, your remarks about your unique DNA caught my interest after you went to bed. I made appointments for all of us to be assessed to go to Dinnio Prime and, while there, check to see if we have the same DNA,” said Vivian.

“I researched the concept of people with foreign genetic material. I discovered that the Emperor had foreign DNA. The Collective discovered the unique genetic material the first time Jason visited the Collective. It made him vulnerable to cancer. It turned out to be Uzliumbax double helix DNA,” said Brandon.

“That is interesting. Did you find anything else? Helax told me my foreign genes are different,” said Horti.

“Later, when the Emperor met the Dinnion, he and a Dinnion princess got seriously ill for months. Uzliumbax and Dinnion DNA converge on a common endpoint but are not there yet. The DNA of both converts other genes to Dinnion or Uzliumbax. Eventually, they will all look the same,” said Vivian. “The Dinnion and Uzliumbax genes are equally powerful, so the Uzliumbax and Dinnion in their most pure forms, the royal genes, make each other the illest. The effects on most Uzliumbax and Dinnion are minor transient illnesses.”

“The Dinnion DNA will infect us all and change us. Your ancient DNA must be a wildcard. How will it react with the Dinnion or Uzliumbax DNA, and what will they do to treat you?” Brandon asked. “If we have this weird genetic material, it has not negatively affected any of us.”

“That is interesting,” said Horti. “I will see what happens when you go there. The reception lady Helax Drosselmata was pleasant and friendly.”

Horti lifted her head and saw her parents looking at her, brows furrowed.

“Dad, I am sorry I was hysterical last night. I tried to be sensible and logical, but I lost it completely. I am confused and upset. While in bed, I thought, what if the Dinnion could fix my leg? What if they can fix my burn scars? What if they can change how I look?” Horti grimaced and shrugged.

“From what we know, they can do as they say,” said Brandon.

“I can’t believe it is true. I would be devastated if they didn’t do as they said they could. The plastic surgeon shows me progress pictures and says my burn scars are better. Yes, they are better, but the result is still hideous scarring. It was the same with the leg. They told me I could get a great prosthesis that would give me excellent mobility. It would be much harder than a below-knee one, but I could probably manage without a crutch or stick. I put a major effort into my rehabilitation. The results are disappointing.”

“Horti, we were also disappointed,” said Vivian. “We can see your struggle.”

“I still feel like I am walking on shifting ground. My other leg is not great; the nerve graft is not working well. I am sick of all the futile rehabilitation.”

Horti held her head in her hands, her elbows on the table. “I know I have told you all this stuff before, but my fears of being unable to control my life dominate my thinking.”

“If they give you a new leg, what happens next?” Vivian asked.

“Helax said I need a lot of rehabilitation for my leg after I get it, and it takes a while for most to adapt to it. I must go to the hospital ship every week before we go. I can’t bear the prospect of another futile rehabilitation round.”

“How big a job is fixing the scars?” Brandon asked.

“Helax told me the medical machine gave me stem cells that would slowly fix my burns, but her machine is not as sophisticated as those on the hospital ship. I don’t know what result I would get on the hospital ship. I also don’t know how long it will take. The medical AI told me, but I was so anxious that I recall nothing she told me.”

“Horti, would you like to go?” Brandon asked.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, dad. I don’t want to remain here on my own. I know the Dinnion offer could be good, and I understand all the benefits of a Dinnion education. However, I will have an impaired leg when we go, and how will I cope with exercise and fighting? We all must do the military and academic programs. I must cope with a new home, the military induction, walking around on campus and socializing with the Dinnion who look down on us. It feels overwhelming.”

“Perhaps it is best if you agree to go but say you will leave here once your leg works well,” said Vivian.

“Alternately, I will get the medical treatment here next year if I don’t go. I could get all my rehabilitation in familiar surroundings, and then when I am confident, I would be happy to join all of you,” said Horti. “It all is too much of a rush.”

“Horti, that is an excellent plan. Why wait if you can get treatment now? Why don’t you ask Helax if you can get your treatment and join us when your rehabilitation is done? You will save a year if she agrees. You said you have another appointment with her to discuss your foreign genes next week?”