Chapter 19: Downtime

Agent and I discussed the best way to move Jane into the hanger where the medical treatment room had been constructed. She had a mule drive up to the rear cargo ramp while I dragged the mostly deflated mattress back through the aircraft and onto the ramp. I stood back as she raised the tail ramp up a bit to match the level of the mule’s deck and I simply pulled the mattress and Jane onto the mule. I then followed as Agent drove the mule into the hangar and towards the back of the building.

There I found the medical treatment room. It basically was a large white plastic tent with sliding doors and contained two rooms, each about the size of a normal hospital room. We entered the first which I found was a prep or clean-up room of some sort. In the middle of the prep room was a low basin table.

“John, please disrobe and shower fully, scrubbing and using the soap provided in the shower compartment. Then, don the gown and footwear hanging in the receptacle beside the shower,” Agent instructed.

I did so and was impressed that the shower compartment had a built-in warm air dryer.

After I dressed, Agent continued, “Remove the infuser, mask, goggles, and undergarment from Jane and place her into the basin.”

She had wet the diaper which I thought was a good indication that her kidneys were functioning.

“Next, carefully remove the sedation patch on her neck without touching its underside and dispose of it in the refuse container below the basin.”

The wounds on her body looked better but some were still weeping a smelly grayish discharge which I mentioned to Agent.

“The nano-spray previously applied requires that the wounds remain open to allow for the residue of the infection and the parasites to drain. They will begin to close after the next few treatments.”

I carefully picked up Jane and set her in the middle of the basin. A curved metal support rose from the basin floor to support her head and neck. The basin started filling with a milky liquid which rose slowly around Jane until just her face remained above the surface. Agent had me take a cloth and wash and wipe down her face with the milky liquid. Bubbles began to agitate the liquid and I could see the open wounds leaking more dark seepage.

“Jane will need to remain in the cleansing bath for approximately a quarter hour, John. Please discard your soiled gown and wash completely in the shower compartment a second time. Then, don the gown, sterile gloves, and face mask in the next cabinet. Apply the gloves last,” Agent explained.

I saw a cabinet door opening beside a small wash compartment and went to clean up and get dressed in the indicated items. When I was scrubbed, masked, gowned and hopefully, now more sterile, I returned to the basin to see that Jane was now immersed in a clear water like liquid.

“Using a new towel, please wipe her exposed face with cleansing liquid, John.”

The liquid had an astringent smell and soon after began to drain from the basin. A mobile unit pulling a wheeled metal table entered from the second room and stopped next to the basin.

“Place Jane onto her right side on the mobile table John.”

I again had no problem picking up Jane and carefully placed her on the center of the absorbent pad on the table. The mobile unit took Jane into the second room.

“Please remain outside the sterile procedure room John. You may monitor the various procedures and surgeries on the wall screen if you wish,” Agent said.

Over the next hour I went from fascinated and mesmerized, to slightly horrified, to finally just bored as I watched Agent’s various machines and manipulators working on Jane. In the procedure room the table was placed among a dozen various manipulator arms, probes, scanners, and more devices which I had no idea about. She was intubated, catheterized, fitted to a new infuser and finally, rolled onto her front as various small probes and manipulators worked on her back and spine.

Agent kept me updated on what was happening and was almost certain that Jane would be fully healed after treatment. I finally left the medical suite when Agent admitted that she no longer needed me to remain on standby and that Jane would be in the procedure room under sedation for at least the next two days to give the repairs done to her spine and spinal column a chance to stabilize.

I ditched the gown, gloves and mask and went back out into the hangar. Flipper had been wheeled into the hanger and I found new clothing in one of the crates and after dressing, helped unload and stow the gear until late in the afternoon. I asked Agent where I would be spending the night and she said that temporary quarters had been prepared for me in the power kite hangar building. I walked over to the other end of the landing area where the kite hangar building resided.

Inside was another plastic tent room about the size of a large bedroom and next to that was a temporary bathroom complete with a shower stall. I saw that there were a few crates by the door to the room and found new clothing, hygiene supplies and a container of drinking water. I was pleased to note that the sleeping tent was fully heated and air conditioned. I asked Agent about food and she said that I could order whatever I liked at any time. The items would be delivered from the sublevel below by a mechanical unit in under an hour.

I thought about what I was hungry for and decided to tempt fate and ordered a grilled rib eye steak, medium rare, a baked potato with sour cream and butter, thick garlic toast, and a cold pilsner in a frosted mug.

“The meal will be ready in fifty-two minutes, John.”

The hell she said. I had my doubts, but I’d give her the benefit of doubt. The delay would give me enough time for a long hot shower. Forty minutes later I was relaxed, dressed, and getting hungry for my steak. I wondered if there were ration bars handy in case the steak turned out to be a disaster. Inside the tent like room, I found a twin sized inflatable mattress on one side and a table and chair on the other. The room was cool and dry with fresh air supplied by a small grill high on one wall.

I noticed a view screen and asked how Jane was doing and her image appeared showing her still being worked on although she was now back on her side again. It looked like they were finishing up the surgeries and applying another type of nano-spray to the open wounds. This spray hardened and remained in place, forming a dressing of sorts.

The room’s door slid open and a mobile unit rolled in carrying a metal serving container and a box which looked like a small cooler. I began salivating when it opened the serving container and I smelled the meal. I placed the food on my table and found inside the cooler box a frosty mug of beer. I took a big drink and it tasted good! I would not miss the powdered beer.

I found the eating utensils beside the container and got busy buttering and topping my baked potato, hoping it was as good as it smelled. I cut my first piece of steak and held it up inspecting it on the fork. It looked like a real steak, so I decided to go for it. It was above average with a good flavor and texture. I was impressed. The baked potato and toast also hit the spot. Of course, for all I knew, Agent could have conditioned me during bio-suspension to like roadkill but at least I was now full and satisfied.

Desert appeared when another mobile unit appeared with a basket of fruit. I recognized the bananas but the other two were a mystery. Agent explained that they were local fruit that she had harvested just this morning. Besides the bananas, the other two items of fruit were mangoes, and something called a sapodilla. I tried one of each and found the sapodilla to be very sweet. I had planned to go for a quick walk around to see the base and area, but after the meal the fast pace of the past three days caught up to me and I decided to just go to bed.

It was wonderful to awaken when my body was fully ready and rested. I lay on the mattress luxuriating in the peace and quiet of the cool dim tent. Soon, my bladder made me get up and I hobbled out of the tent in my underwear heading to the small bathroom. I followed that with another long hot shower and returned to the tent to find Agent had left me a breakfast of fruit, cereal, and cold milk. There was a carafe, so I finished with a cup of hot coffee.

“How’s Jane doing?”

“Jane’s treatment is concluded, and she is now recovering. She will remain sedated for the next thirty hours or so upon which I will allow her to awaken as her energy levels permit,” Agent replied.

“What time is it?”

“It is 8:46 in the morning, Saturday, February 20, 2602, John.”

Agent knew I liked to keep track of the day of the week for some reason.

“So, Jane will be out of it at least until late afternoon tomorrow?”

“Affirmative, John.”

It was warm and sunny when I left the power kite hangar. On the landing pad area, I noticed that there were just the three aircraft tied down in a row and that all the spare cargo and empty ESUs had been removed. I went into the main hanger and retrieved my knife and goggles from Flipper as I was going to take a look around the compound and the surrounding area.

I asked Agent about any dangerous animals in the area and found that jaguars and pumas did travel the area but that I needed to mainly watch for the Fer-de-lance snake. The poisonous snake existed in large numbers in the jungles nearby, but that Agent monitored the landing area and hangars keeping a watch for them. As far as the big cats, she said that they had been spotted occasionally but that her heat detectors would see them if they approached the area.

I found that the jungle behind the hangars was actually a large garden which had been planted by Agent over the decades. Her mobile units had been growing many types of plant species and had been transplanting them all around Central America. I found more ripe fruit on some of the trees and had a snack. The trees were filled with birds and I saw various type of monkeys and even a tree sloth. I also noticed that plenty of insects had survived and wondered if Agent would have a deterrent available.

I was getting hot as it was quite warm and muggy. Agent had said that this was the dry season, but that it still rained occasionally, and the highs reached to around 30-35c (85-95F) during the day. I mentioned I would need shorts. I returned to the main hangar around 10:00 and was again glad my quarters were air conditioned to remove the humidity. I looked in on Jane and she had been moved to a standard inflatable bed and was sleeping quietly with only a few medical monitors present.

I was almost bored with nothing to do and no urgent mission to complete. I mentioned this to Agent, and she suggested I take a quick vacation. She recommended I take one of the aircraft outside and fly over to the coast and out to that island we had passed and spend the afternoon and night on the beach. It would be cooler off the coast and she could even provide provisions and fishing gear. I thought about this for a while and decided it was a great idea, as Jane would be out of it until tomorrow afternoon. Corn Island was only twenty minutes away by air so I could return quickly if needed at any time.

Agent said that she would have supplies and provisions ready by 11:50. While I waited, I used a mule to haul a few of the crates with some of the camping type gear to one of the planes outside which I learned was Shadow. The aircraft had had fresh ESUs installed yesterday and its water tank was full. I stowed the gear and went to the other hangar to get some clothing and hygiene supplies, eating a quick lunch while I was there.

At 12:00 noon, Agent’s mobile unit met me back at the plane with the new gear. She had made a set of fishing rods which were disassembled at the moment. I also found a pair of shorts, a wide brimmed hat, and a pair of swim fins. Agent said that the goggles and respirator mask were water proof and would function as basic diving gear if I wanted to go snorkeling although she advised me to not go more than five meters deep and that I should watch for dangerous fish.

The work unit also had a medium sized chest which I discovered was a self-contained cooler unit. There were generically labeled beverages, a couple sandwiches and what looked like large hot dogs. I saw that there were two long skewer forks so I could cook over a fire if I wanted. I saw the skewers had small barbs and I hoped to use them to find a lobster to enjoy for supper.

I was fretting over what more to bring when Agent reminded me that there were two other aircraft here and that I would only be a half hour away from resupply if I needed something else. OK ... I got the hint and boarded the aircraft. Soon we were flying 300kph due east and I had barely gotten comfortable in the still shrink-wrapped pilots’ seat when I saw the island on the horizon. It was kidney bean shaped and about five kilometers long and two wide. We descended towards the southwest corner where a wide sandy beach extended for almost a kilometer. This side of the Island faced the mainland sixty-five kilometers away and was more protected from the Caribbean Sea.

With a spray of sand, Shadow set down a dozen meters from the tree line. From the driftwood on the beach it looked like we would be high enough above the waterline to not have to worry about tides or any sudden storms. I undressed and just put on the shorts, needing its pockets for my knife and tablet, and hit the beach. It was partly cloudy and warm with a gentle breeze blowing away from shore and the ocean was just gentle waves lapping the sand. Agent would inform me via the tablet if the sensors on Shadow detected anything I needed to worry about. She had also launched the drone that would monitor the area if I wandered too far away.

I spent the next hour just walking the beach and enjoying the sand between my toes. The beach was in its natural state so there was plenty of driftwood and other items interrupting the fine sand. I noticed quite a bit of rubbish still washing ashore although it was all heavily eroded and degraded. There were plenty of signs of beach life with turtle, bird and other tracks peppering the sand. I found a large straight stick and whittled a point on one end in case a jungle rat or pig or something attempted to see if I was tasty. I reasoned that all of nature had lost its fear of humans so I would be wary.

I returned to the aircraft and got the goggles, face mask, and swim fins, strapping the air unit on my upper arm. Agent advised me to wear a pair of socks as a precaution in case of jelly fish or other spiny water life in the shallows. She said the soles would resist punctures quite well. The water was incredible, and I spent over an hour just slowly swimming back and forth watching the bottom. I did not dive more than a few meters as the pressure on my face from the goggles and breathing mask was uncomfortable.