Chapter 13

Chuck was very quiet for several seconds.

“No direct hot meat injections, right?”

I shook my head, chuckling. “No, but you’re damned close. That’s why I’m going to have to be very, very careful. We were playing with mouse DNA today, and I realized that it might be possible to manipulate my own DNA such that it would interact with viruses, attach to ones that are already attached to human cells, and then make the virus detach, so that it can then be flushed from the body normally.”

He nodded. “What’s bad is that I actually understood that. The question is, what would happen if someone else examines the DNA and realizes that you’re more than human, a meta-human, if you will?”

“That’s where some of my concern comes from, obviously. Oh, well, something to discuss with the girls. I hope the two of you weren’t too bored today. I’m not planning on going out tonight.” As we pulled up to the house, I saw several brand new cars sitting in the parking lot.

“Well, maybe I’ll go out for a little bit,” I said with a grin.

I walked into the house, giving Helen and Jennifer a kiss. “Just to show that I have my priorities straight, how did things go with the doctor today?”

“Should we make it quick, so he can run out and go play with his new toy?” Helen asked, her face lovely from her smile.

“Maybe I’ll go take him for a ride. In my new Subaru, that is,” Jennifer got out while giggling.

“I think we need to practice with a stick shift,” Margie laughed, walking in. “Come here, big, tall, and alien. I want to play with your stick.”

“Nope,” Marcia said as she came in, followed by Hannah. “Since he was nice enough to ask, proving he has learned his lesson, the least we can do is actually answer him.”

“Okay, fine. Spoilsport. Why did I ever think you could come live with us from Washington?”

“Because even without Beth, I was linked to your wicked and perverted mind?”

“That’s true. You’ve probably noticed that it’s only those of us who are actually pregnant meeting you this evening. The other three are having a bit of fun in their 911s before dinner and then coming home to do their homework. I’ll say one thing. The professors here don’t have an issue piling on the homework from day one, which I think is amusing. Your study kiosks are all set up in the double-wide on that end. I know, none of you need to do much studying, but they got the computers, desks, and keyboards all set up today, so you can start typing your papers.”

“Thank you. I didn’t anticipate that I’d have to write twenty pages for class tomorrow.”

“Part of our service. Come on, let’s go eat, the other three are almost home, and we can tell you about our day.”

“No problem. Um, where are the other girls?”

Hannah said, “Literally, sick in bed. Nothing serious, but something we should have made sure of before we brought them from India in the first place. None of them had ever received the standard immunization shots that the rest of us got as children. They get tonight and tomorrow off, while their bodies figure out that they’re actually going to be fine. Toby and Carrie are doing their homework now, and will join us for dinner.

The door to the dining trailer opened and three teenage girls walked in. They’d taken time to brush their hair, but the excitement in their eyes matched that of when they’d first taken to the air.

“Perfect. Dinner, then homework. I know Liz got the same as you for the Law classes. Spic only has two chapters and a single paper to do tonight. I’ve got five chapters from two classes, and two papers. As much as I didn’t think we’d need it, I’m glad we went to HCC for a little while. This definitely isn’t like high school at all.”

The evening cook, Marie, had a nice roast with vegetables for us. She’d also made soup for the girls. After serving us, she made sure we knew that there would be snacks available for later in the evening if we wanted, and went back into the kitchen area.

“Dad, after dinner, can we take a ride in your new car?”

“Only if your homework is done. It won’t be long, I have homework to do myself now. How was your first day at the new school, for both of you?”

“Definitely different than at Graber. I’m the smallest kid, and the youngest. The teachers said that I will probably have to repeat the grade, since I’m starting so late, but that’s not a problem for them, or for me. The kids playing are definitely a lot nicer than they were at Graber. Grandpa said something about refinement, but I’m not sure what he meant. They know I’m coming here from a different situation, so my being a little slow isn’t an issue.”

He giggled. “One of them started to say something mean, and another one hit him on the back of the head like the Moms do to you and told him to cut it out. Someone sticking up for me never happened before.”

I frowned. “What about your homework?”

“It’s actually not bad. The teachers didn’t give me the same amount as the other kids, but that’s because I’m not as familiar with their subjects yet. Grandpa is helping me to understand the subjects like before, but he’s not having to help me study or answer the questions. The time working with just Mom Mom really helped!”

“Mom Mom?” Jennifer asked.

“Well, I’ve got Mom Margie, Mom Marcia, Mom Hannah, and Mom Helen, so I have to tell you apart somehow,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

There were some giggles from around the table at that. I looked at Carrie.

“It’s more advanced than we had at Adak, but I think that’s almost a given. It’s also more in depth, so I’m learning more. I talked with the Principal and we agreed that it’s better for me to start in the Ninth Grade, instead of the Tenth. Even though I turned fourteen in November, in Adak, we didn’t really separate the grades, so they sort of considered me a sophomore up there, because of how advanced I was in some subjects. They didn’t know that was because of Madalain, of course.”

“No cheating with her down here, though, right?”

She grinned. “Nope. Funny thing is, the homeroom teacher was saying I’m Native American. I told her I’m not an Indian, dot nor feather, and she didn’t think that was very funny. The two kids that are Indian did, though. Then I said I’m First People, and that got off onto a cultural discussion that I don’t think the teacher was expecting. It was fun discussing how prejudices shape our views of people from other lands. That ended up shaping our actual lessons for the day, even.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, with what the Pope has said, from what someone passed along to him, about history, meant that things that the ‘civilized’ world had considered to be myths really weren’t, so that was history. In physics, we got to discussing how the four of ... the Messenger and his apprentices ... could possibly utilize their powers. In biology, it was discussed how we’re all different, but of the same species. I grew up from people adapted to the cold, so I’m shorter than most. We’ve got two kids whose parents are African, and they’re taller than anyone in the class and even darker than Helen, because of their climate. One of the questions we discussed but didn’t get an answer to was, if we’re the First Peoples, how is it that the people of India are lighter brown, and then where’d the rest of the white people come from? We’re going to keep working on that for a couple of days, I think.”

“And this is freshman high school?” Jennifer asked. “Wow! No wonder that’s one of the best schools in the country. Carrie, I think I can speak for every one of us. We’re jealous.”

Carrie grinned.

“Sounds like you had a good day. Just keep in mind what you know, versus what the rest of the world knows,” I said. “Now, Hannah mentioned immunization shots. Politely, that’s something I hadn’t even considered before we went off around the world. Is everyone else okay?”

“Not only are we okay, we’re ... immune,” Margie said.

“Immune to what?” I asked.

“Everything,” Helen said. “The girls had to get the whole gauntlet. Chickenpox, DTap, MMR, Polio, Cholera, and all three strains of Hepatitis. They’re literally going to feel like shit this evening and most of tomorrow. Your security are all former military, so they had their boosters before we took off. Hannah and I both had booster shots before we left our home countries for the US, but before leaving on our trip, none of us did. Now, it’s not needed, for any of us.”

“The enhancement that each of you have received?”

“Exactly,” Hannah said. “First off, all of us are, as the OB-GYN phrased it, disgustingly healthy, and our babies are developing normally. The four of you have been monitoring them, but they did some checking as well. They have a really cool machine over there, so we all got to hear the heartbeats of the three oldest. They won’t be able to hear one in me or Helen until late February or March, sometime.”

“They did the standard blood work on each of us, for pregnant women,” Margie said. “I don’t think anything is going to show up that shouldn’t. It was a case of simply acting normal, so that they wouldn’t think to look for anything they shouldn’t.”

“Except me, of course,” Jennifer said. “Doctor Korn had called the clinic before we went there, to make sure they didn’t freak out. He also told them to not do anything over and above the normal when it came to me.”

She snorted. “I’ve never seen a doctor look so dumbfounded.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Margie said. “We know about what happened at the Women’s Clinic, but watching it with our own eyes was hilarious. The OB-GYN called Doctor Korn back, because she didn’t appreciate the joke. That’s when our common last name finally sunk in, and she realized who Hannah and Jennifer were. That took care of that. Also, our new security girls made certain that things won’t spread, so no photographers and such.”

“Good. Um, I’d like to discuss something with the eight of you, later. I’ve had one request for a short ride, that I’d like to honor, before doing my homework, if that’s okay with you ladies?”

“Two. Toby gets to go first, then me. Just because I didn’t think a new Porsche is right for me doesn’t mean I don’t want to go for a ride in it with you.”

I spent the next hour giving rides, over and then up the 280 a bit, then back. Toby really liked the big cloverleaf at Sand Hill Road, because I didn’t take ramp loops at anything vaguely close to the suggested speed limit. I halfway expected Jennifer to make good on her promise from this morning when we went down to El Monte Road before turning around, but she surprised me and didn’t.

When we got home, I searched for the computer room, finally finding it. It was larger than I expected, with twelve stations set up. After a moment, I realized that was so the girls could learn things at their own pace. I saw that my three were all sitting at a computer, wearing headphones that had a little boom microphone coming out, like they used at NASA. I figured it was because they were networked, so they could talk to each other or to someone else. When I sat down, I found out how wrong I was.

“Well, about time you bothered to come see me.”

“I missed you, too, Mike. I got told I couldn’t see you when I first got here.”

“No. Things were rather messy for a while. So, you have multiple papers to write tonight, it looks like. You better get started.”

“You’re not going to write them for me?” I asked.

“Puh-lease! I’m not the one who has to know this stuff. You are. Your Constitutional Law and Criminal Law textbooks are in your backpack. You might want to go get them, so you can read them, first.”

I got up and went back to where I’d dropped my backpack off, then brought it with me. Putting the headset back on, I said, “Okay, how’d you know that about my books? And what’s with the looser language?”

“Regarding the language, we’re in California now and while I’m not going full Valley Speak, I also may need to actually do what Mycroft did in the Heinlein book, and use the telephone at some point. The original plans were for your main three triple-wide homes to all be enclosed in Faraday cages, as they call electromagnetic isolation mesh here on Earth. They are, but with the addition of the trailers, and then the building of the full roof over everything, the cage was extended to cover all of it. That means that not only can I use the electrical wires in the house for my sensors, I can also use the interactions between the EM fields generated that are confined within the cages to act a little like a combination of MRI and sonar, allowing me to create within me, a ‘map’ that allows me to see everyone and everything within the houses.”

“So not just echo-location, but also internal three-dimensional modeling?”

“Correct. While my processing ability is the best that Star Home had created, I do have physical limitations. I’ve been capable of multitasking, like I am now, holding different conversations with you, Beth, Dora, and Eve, I just haven’t had the equipment to really do so before now. However, one of the things your grandfather did not anticipate is that I would need to move long term memory, so that I can both increase my processing power as well as learn new things.”

“I could see where that would be helpful for you, obviously. Have you tried to connect to the shivalingam that I brought back from India, or the devices in the rings that Helen and Carrie wear?”

He was quiet for several seconds. “I am an idiot. Apparently, it is quite possible to create an intelligence that is stupid. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

“So, how dumb are you?”

“Since the trailers and homes are all Faraday cages, like the Kaufman basement, other than the two devices in the rings, the remainder are in cabinets where I can study them, without danger. I was able to connect with the one that was in the Temple of Sati, because you had left it unlocked. That allowed me to then connect to the other two. We’ve been incorrect in our thinking. All of the devices definitely came from Star Home. The six that you recovered from Dora’s people, and the two that were in England, came with Shiva. The other three, the ones that actually gave the Thug additional powers, were already here, which is the reverse of what Dora thought. Those three, and several more, were brought with the original settlers of this planet.”

“Then why did it try to change Dora?”

“Those stones were designed to assist people who did not have the proposed genetic change made to them. Dora was only partially correct in her thinking. At that point in time, Eve would have achieved the same results, because the two of them had not been modified enough by exposure to you to negate their use. Beth had been genetically modified too much, which is why she couldn’t access them.”

“So, why are you stupid?”

“Simple. None of the devices actually use all of their actual storage capacity. I can use them for memory storage, of those items that are primarily long term storage items that I will rarely need to access. That’ll free up space in me, since I can use every bit, you’ll pardon the pun, of myself for either memory or processing.”

“Sounds good. Don’t do anything stupid, like lose your personality. I need to get some papers written tonight.”

I read my Constitutional Law book, then stopped. I read it again, a little slower this time. Actually learning about the law, and where it came from, was considerably more interesting than simply reading and memorizing case law for reference. I could see having a lot of fun in this class.

I took my time with this paper, spending almost half an hour on it, then getting it printed and into a folder with a cover sheet. I detected the assistance of my women who had advanced degrees, because each of these workstations had a box of clear covers with slide-on binders, in addition to other office supplies.

Reading about Criminal Law was even more fun than Constitutional Law; the actual origins of the court system and the judiciary. I chuckled a little at the discussion of high and low justice. I found that I had difficulty in picking which misdemeanor I wanted to write about. Finally, I chose a simple one, and quickly knocked out my five pages. I made sure everything was ready to go for tomorrow and took my backpack to the spot by the door where the girls had placed theirs.

Then I went looking for everyone else, since by the time I was done, I was alone. I found Elroy and Marcia in the dining room.

“I wondered if you’d gotten lost out there when you weren’t back for supper.”

“Yes, well, sometimes you end up having way too much fun talking, and forget to look at the clock. Our lunch turned into all afternoon and evening. How was your first day of real college?”

“I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought that because I knew all of the laws, at least the laws of Kansas, that I understood the subject. I hadn’t actually had a chance to read any of the law books I’ll use this quarter, and the process itself is fascinating.” I glanced around as more of my ladies walked in. “Are the rest of you available, because I did mention that I wanted to discuss something this evening after dinner.”

“Dora and Eve are on Indian watch. They’ll listen in, everyone else will be here in a minute or so.”

“Are the girls okay? Do they need to go to the clinic?”

“No. You know how small Mahi and Mina are. One of the things that the shots have done is actually give all of the girls a little bit of diarrhea. Cholera itself doesn’t directly kill you, you just shit yourself to death. They’re going to make sure all eight of them stay hydrated during the night, and can help them. Beth will join them when we’re done.”

“And don’t worry about us, Cal. The three of us have more than enough power to stay awake all night and still be good for classes tomorrow. We’ll have security helping them tomorrow, but tonight, it’s better for us to do this,” Beth said.

“Okay. Obviously, if any of them get too sick...”

“We’ll get them transported over to the hospital immediately,” Beth said. “I realize that none of us considered this, but according to what the clinic doctor said, it’s not unexpected for almost a fourth of adults who get these shots to have a more severe reaction.”

Elroy nodded. “It’s sort of like the booster shots we used to take for the military. Sometimes they wouldn’t bother you, sometimes they’d make you sicker than a dog. And you had to watch them, because sometimes they’d give you something that wasn’t perfect, but you were the perfect guinea pig.”

“Speaking of guinea pigs ... the reason I wanted to talk to everyone is sort of related to that particular noun. How smart do you want me to be, and how quickly?”

Margie frowned. “I know you’re not taking formal medical classes this quarter like Dora is. What’s up?”

“Doctor Korn gets me the first half of this quarter, and he wanted to find out how much I know, and how much I can do, before we figure out my class schedule for next quarter, so we know what I actually need to take. I’ll be doing something similar with the school of Engineering the second half of the quarter. This week I’m working with Doctor Fallow in microbiology. Today, we worked with straight DNA, and tomorrow, we’re working with viruses.”

“I presume that you’re being safe in the lab, as that’s some dangerous stuff,” Elroy said.

“Obviously. Chuck and Sayel aren’t even allowed into the lab itself. But ... playing with DNA got me to thinking, and since we’re working with viruses tomorrow, I have a dilemma. A little biology, first. Viruses, like what the girls were vaccinated for today, are either DNA or RNA based. Chickenpox and genital warts are two examples of DNA based viruses. Rhinoviruses are RNA based. A couple of those are the common cold and hepatitis.”

Hannah said, “Your semen has made us immune to all of those, though.”

“Exactly. As far as you’re all concerned, you’ve been vaccinated against everything, every disease known to mankind, and probably a few that aren’t. There’s a lot of viruses out there that cause cancer. Human papillomavirus, or HPV, appears to cause breast cancer. That’s a DNA virus. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS, is an RNA virus. And no, it’s not a gay disease. You’ve all taken antibiotics at some point or another, because bacteria can be killed. Any ideas on how many actual antivirals there are out there, that can kill a virus?”

“None,” Helen said. “We can treat the symptoms, and vaccinate against them so you don’t get it in the first place, but we can’t cure or beat the virus itself, once you have it.”

Jennifer’s voice was very small. “That’s why I was ready to lose my breasts, and undergo chemo, so the cells that were infected could be surgically removed and maybe I might live.”

“Exactly. Except that now, the breast cancer virus that was in your body isn’t there any more.” I sighed. “Since it was going to come up, I mentioned to Doctor Korn that I did an experimental treatment on you that caused the genetic reversion. One of the things that I’m thinking, and the reason I wanted your input, is that I think I can work on a DNA sample, make it so that it can bind with either a DNA or RNA virus that already is in the body, make that virus detach from the cell it’s in, and then the body can simply flush it out like it normally does any other infection.”

“That’d be a cure for cancer and everything else, the cold, AIDS ... Holy shit, Son! Do you think you can do that?”

“Maybe. Not overnight. That’s why I need to talk to everyone.”

Hannah was nodding. “Of course. Because the actual source for the DNA sample that could do this would either be you, or maybe even one of us.”

I shrugged. “I’m not actually worried about keeping the DNA sample alive, or replicating it once it’s out there. Earth science has known how to do that for years already, so I won’t be giving the scientists something they don’t already know how to do as far as that’s concerned. But something like this, of this magnitude?”

Hannah looked down sadly. “I can think of one person that I’d like to see you try a cure for AIDS on. Purely selfish of me, sort of. He hasn’t even really come out of the closet, as it were, and he sure as bloody hell hasn’t told anyone he has AIDS.”

“Then how do you know about him?” Elroy asked.

“I wanted to see and meet him in person last summer, and Daddy had him investigated. Amazing what you can find out that’s supposed to be private when you’re a Rothschild, like someone’s hidden medical records. He had a white lesion on his tongue caused by Epstein-Barr Virus, which means he’s got AIDS. Yes, I know I could meet him now, and I’d be in no danger of getting the virus myself. But...”

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Freddie Mercury.”

While the name didn’t mean much to me, the rest of the girls, including Jennifer, gasped at basically the same time.

Hannah noticed that the name didn’t click with me. “You know his music, you just may not recognize his name. He’s the lead singer with ‘Queen’.”

That name I recognized.

“I wasn’t quite expecting someone that famous to come into our discussion so soon, but now you see my dilemma. Doctor Korn told me to not do anything unauthorized, or he’d pretty much end my career here.”

Elroy nodded. “Then get it authorized. Mention to Doctor ... Fallow, you said? Tell him when you’re dealing with viruses tomorrow that you think it might be possible to do whatever the hell it is you’re talking about. John told me about your schedule this quarter. You’ve only got one class Wednesday. I bet you spend the rest of the day after law class talking to both Korn and Fallow.”

“You’re right, I could. But is it right for me to do so?”

Helen said, “It was one thing for it to be an unexpected side effect from having sex with Jennifer. Now, you have to deal with the ethical issues of whether you’re really playing God or not, by coming up with a medical treatment that will radically change the lives of not just us, but everyone. The entire planet.”

Eve walked in, shrugging her shoulders. “We’ve been listening in, and the girls are all asleep, so Dora’s got it for now. I’m the one that delved more into Philosophy and Religion at HCC. From a moral and ethical perspective, I don’t see any difference between this and your other projects; the wind turbines, the Ice-X, your maglev train. Those are designed to at least gradually change the lives of everyone on this planet, and you’re planning on getting us off this planet, because the Earth is too small a basket to keep all our eggs in.”

“You stole that last line!” I said.

“You’re not the only one who’s read all of his books now. You ought to go see him at some point. It’s only twenty-six miles straight line from here to his house,” Beth said.

I sat back in my chair. “It is? Shit, I didn’t know that.”

“Really? We figured that was one of the secondary reasons you wanted to live here, because it was so close to his house.”

Elroy laughed. “I can see a visit in your future.” His voice changed a little. “I, um ... damn. Now your talk about viruses and curing people has me wondering about something.”

Helen smiled. “It’s a good idea, for both you and Earl, but let me talk to me mother, first. I certainly have no objections.”

“I understand that, but would it be right, or even fair?” Elroy asked.

“Like I said, let me talk to mum. They’ll be back in Kansas now, I’ll give her a ring.”

I had a look of complete confusion on my face, because I was totally lost.

Jennifer took pity on me. “Elroy’s wondering if, either through using the devices from Star Home, or through some medical treatment you can create, if you could reverse the chemically induced sterility that he and Earl have, so that they can have children of their own. The problem being one that I’ve considered as well, because of my age. Is it fair to the child to have one when his parents would be that old?”

“Silly thought of an old man. I’m liable to be dead before he’d even graduate high school.”

“Um ... fuck! Damn, Grandpa, you’re such a force of nature I never even considered that you might get old,” I said.

“Boy, I’ve earned every damned one of these wrinkles.”

“I know. I apologize for that. But ... just a second. Are you ladies in agreement that it’s okay for me to be very smart, around a lot of really smart but normal people, starting tomorrow?”

Hannah laughed. “We are all in agreement, and I am unanimous in this!” She was laughing so hard that Beth took pity on her.

“British television humor cultural reference. Remember the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch? Similar comedy,” Beth explained.

I shook my head. “You know, I really am from another planet, and sometimes I don’t get humor here, even with the cultural references. I’ll take that as a yes, though. Which also means that once Helen talks to Gloria, I’ll see what Mike and I can come up with.”

Elroy got a stern look on his face. “I don’t know about that one, Son.”

“Don’t worry too much about it, Elroy. Remember, I was shocked at how short the life spans are here as is. I can be a really devious bastard, after all. I learned from the master,” I said, nodding at him.

On that note, we split up and headed to bed. I followed my ladies into our bedroom. “Um, missing girls?”

“They’re in some of the guest bedrooms,” Margie said. “More bathrooms.”

Helen showed up in the bedroom twenty minutes later, leaned over, moved Hannah’s leg out of the way, and told me her mother had approved. I brought my arm away from my body, giving her a thumbs up, since I couldn’t otherwise talk at the time. She mounted it, joining Jennifer and Hannah in our little game. Once everyone was done, the four of us took a quick shower and then piled in with the others for sleep.

My Constitutional Law class the next morning was instructive.

“Nice to see your bright, shining, and eager faces this morning. Please pass your papers to the center of each aisle. My teaching assistants will collect them.” He nodded at them. Both of them did, then when they got back to the front, spoke to the professor quietly.

“Okay, we have three rows in here where someone did not turn in a paper. You, on the end. You didn’t pass a paper down.”

“No. I’m not a student here, I’m personal security,” Chuck said.

“Ah, now I understand what John was talking about. I gather there’s a Mister Sayel in here as well, then? Okay, there in the back.” He said something quietly to his teaching assistants, who answered him.

“Okay, we’ve got that settled.” He walked out front, carrying one stack of papers. “Since there is only one woman in this row, I’m going to presume that this paper is yours. Which of you is Mister Dellert, and which of you is Mister Benson?”

“I’m Dellert, Sir,” one of them said. Another said he was Benson. That left one student in the row.

“Okay, and what’s your name?”

“Anthony Gorton.”

“I recall that you were in here yesterday, even did a little interaction with us during the discussion time. Am I incorrect in that?”