Botanicaust (36 page)

She moved a knight on the virtual chessboard and watched the interactive program take her rook. She couldn
’
t focus. The gamma pad offered a lot of books, games, and some very old movies. But she was only interested in an answer. She needed allies.

Rising, she straightened the new microfiber skirt the Fosselites had provided. The cobalt blue fabric would look marvelous in decent light. She longed for a string of beads or a bracelet, anything to prove someone loved her. But anyone who mattered was gone forever, and she had to make friends if she was going to ask for assistance.

She entered the quiet hallway and headed toward a gathering hall they
’
d passed on the way to the room last night. The double doors stood open, and soft music floated out along with the scent of something unfamiliar. She paused at the threshold, looking over the empty circular tables. Clattering sounded from beyond another set of double doors.
“
Hello?
”
she called. The big room swallowed the sound.

Approaching the other set of doors, she reached for the handle just as the door swung outward, causing her to jump back. A trisomy man carrying a large metal container glanced at her and continued past to a big metal cabinet with a clear plastic roof hovering over the center. As he moved, the unfamiliar smell wafted stronger around her and then waned. He set his load in a hollow apparently designed for the container and looked back to Tula.
“
It
’
s not time yet.
”

“
Time for what?
”

“
You can
’
t come until
it
’
s
time.
”

A woman stuck her head out the double doors.
“
Louie? Who is it? Oh!
”
She blinked at Tula.
“
What are you doing here?
”

The question wasn
’
t exactly unfriendly, but it had a wariness behind it that warned her she might not be welcome.
“
I
’
m
…
looking for Dr. Kaneka.
”

“
I
’
ll let him know. Have a seat. Lunch is in an hour. Oh, wait, you don
’
t eat, right?
”

Tula smiled.
“
I do. Just not as much.
”

“
Oh. How about tea?
”

“
What is tea?
”

The woman winked at her, the first friendly gesture all day.
“
Louie, come get our visitor a cup of tea, please.
”

The man and woman disappeared behind the doors. The music stopped, and after a few moments, Louie came out with a cup of steaming liquid and set it on a table. He stared at her in what she thought was reproach. She sat and he set a spoon and a small bowl of golden fluid next to her.

Without a word, he turned and left.
So much for making friends
.
Alone with her
“
tea,
”
Tula sniffed the steam from the cup. Not unpleasant. She scooped a spoonful and tasted. Slightly bitter, like drinking dirty water. Wrinkling her nose, she pushed the cup away. Out of curiosity, she put the spoon into the other dish and paused as the substance resisted, stiff and thick. Lifting the spoon, she watched the viscous material string between the utensil and the dish. Maybe this was the
“
tea?
”
She pulled her index finger through a strand, pinching the sticky liquid between thumb and finger, and brought it to her nose. Sweet. Touching her finger to the tip of her tongue, she blinked in surprise before sucking her fingers clean. Sweeter than the candies she gave her kids.

A large figure pushing a medical cart shuffled by the doors then stopped, drawing Tula
’
s attention. Michael stood outside, as if waiting for an invitation. She waved him to join her. He darted a look around the room, hesitated, and turned the cart toward her. His eyes were on her tea and she pushed both dishes toward him.
“
I
’
m waiting for Dr. Kaneka. Would you like some tea?
”

He shook his head, looking at her hands, not her face.

Tula poked at the sticky stuff with the spoon.
“
I
’
ve never had tea. Do you think you could show me how to drink it?
”

Taking the spoon, he twirled it to make the glue-like stuff stop dripping and then stirred it into the cup of bitter liquid.
“
Oh. That
’
s what that
’
s for.
”
She laughed.
“
This is the tea?
”
She lifted the cup.

He nodded, a shy smile playing about his lips.

Tula sipped the sweetened liquid and found it much improved. She smacked her lips.
“
Delicious.
”
She preferred the sweetener alone, but didn
’
t want to appear ungrateful.

The woman from the other room appeared again.
“
Hello, Michael. Your father is on his way.
”

He scuffed his feet and put his hands back on the cart.

“
I
’
d love him to stay.
”
Tula looked at the woman.

“
He doesn
’
t talk.
”
The woman waved him off.

“
Michael and I communicate very well.
”
Tula turned a bright smile his way. After her initial fear of the big man, she
’
d come to appreciate his protectiveness.

A flush crept up his neck and he grinned, turning his face half to the side.

The woman raised her brows, shrugged, and returned to the other room.

“
Come sit with me, Michael.
”
Tula pointed to the chair next to her.

He remained rooted in place, hands on the cart.

“
If you want to.
”
She was accustomed to the shyness of cannibal prisoners. She had to approach them from the side, let them think the decision to communicate was theirs.

Michael let go of the cart and wiped his enormous palms on his thighs, but remained standing.

“
You are supposed to be working, is that it?
”

He nodded and toyed with the keycard around his neck.

“
Well, I
’
m glad you could stop by and say hello. I don
’
t want you to get in trouble. Maybe I could sit with you at the meal later?
”

His brows rose and he snuck a look at her. The long planes of his face perpetually drooped, but she saw gratefulness. He nodded.

Dr. Kaneka appeared at the doorway, and Michael grabbed the cart. The doctor gave him a hard glance and turned his attention to Tula.
“
I hope he was not bothering you?
”

“
Not at all. I asked him to sit down, but he said he had work to do.
”
Tula waved her fingers goodbye at Michael but he was so focused on the doors, he didn
’
t see her.

Dr. Kaneka pulled out a chair but did not sit.
“
You and the man you arrived with are close.
”

Tula flushed, knowing he meant last night.
“
I know it
’
s unethical to be intimate with patients, but he ceased being my patient the moment Vitus sentenced him to death.
”
She had no regrets about being with Levi.

“
How well can you communicate?
”
He held a gamma pad in one hand, his other resting on the back of the empty chair.

“
Rudimentary word usage and a lot of body language. Why?
”

“
I have given some thought to your request for asylum.
”

Her heart lurched as she realized this was an interview, not a social visit. She had to make herself look valuable.
“
I am quite good at interfacing with cannibals, and in Confinement, I
’
m the only one Levi would talk to. And that was after a lot
—
”

He waved the gamma pad to halt her.
“
We have no need for a Conversion Psychiatrist, but we may have another use for you.
”
Placing the pad on the table in front of her, he stood behind her shoulder. The photoelectric image of a brain glowed purple across the screen, tiny data points printed below. He pointed to several white spots at the center of the image deep inside the two lobes of the brain.
“
See these lesions in the hippocampus? Telomerase cannot pass through the blood brain barrier to heal aging cells. Our brains are vulnerable to old-age diseases like Parkinson
’
s, Alzheimer
’
s, and other dementia. For over four hundred years our bodies have not aged. But our brains are another matter. Our time is running out.
”

“
That
’
s
—
”
She didn
’
t know what to say.
Horrible
was not a strong enough word.
“
How can I help?
”

Kaneka pulled out the chair next to her and sat with his hands folded on the table.
“
When we encountered the Haldanians several decades ago, we discovered telomerase aided the uptake of chloroplasts during cell conversion. And during telomerase repair, your chloroplasts release a specific steroid which can penetrate the blood brain barrier and dissolve abnormal protein deposits and aging cells from brain tissue without harming surrounding cells.
”
He touched the screen to zoom in on some white spots within the center of the image.
“
These lesions are prior to injection of Haldanian steroids.
”
He changed to another image.
“
Here is the same brain after one week of treatment.
”

Shocked, Tula stared at the screen. Almost all the lesions had disappeared. Frowning, she asked,
“
Why don
’
t you ask the Protectorate to convert you?
”

“
No!
”
Dr. Kaneka reeled backward in his chair, eyes wide and lip curled in revulsion.
“
No, conversion is not an option for us.
Just as immortality is not an option for the converted.
Our initial experiments to combine the technologies proved disastrous. Telomerase alone does not allow one to be immortal. The sustained amounts required for immortality cause mutations and cancer. We use a panel of enzymes and immunoreactives to control and remove mutated and apoptotic cells. The immunoreactives do not take kindly to the insertion of chloroplasts into the cell genome.
”
Dr. Kaneka winked and laughed, as if he
’
d just delivered the punch line of a joke.

After he finished chuckling, he said,
“
I
’
m prepared to offer you asylum if you agree to aid us in further research.
”

Tula considered.
“
I
’
m not sure how I can be of assistance. My area of expertise isn
’
t gerontology or chemistry
—
”

“
You misunderstand. We are not asking for collaboration. We need chemical samples.
”

Tula sat back to gauge the expression on his bland face.
“
You want to use me as a test subject?
”
A shiver coursed from her middle, up her shoulders, and to the tips of her fingers and toes.
“
I hadn
’
t actually planned to stay
—
”

“
Your friend spoke to our translator this morning, and it appears he has nothing to trade. We will go to his home and provide treatment to his son in return for your cooperation. The offer is more than fair.
”
He stuck his hands into the pockets of his lab coat and stared at her through bloodshot eyes.