Chapter 54: We Have a Cure
The next morning, Orcilla, Daily, and Demadrian were in the laboratory studying and running a few tests on the possible seaweed cures.
‘This is amazing,’ said Orcilla as she looked up from her microscope. ‘It heals and replenishes tissue in a way I have never seen before.’
‘It causes no genetic changes,’ said Demadrian. ‘Therefore, it does not pose the same risks as the serums you have been working on.’
‘This could heal you,’ said Daily, sounding excited as he looked at Orcilla.
‘I can’t make myself a priority while there are so many others with only weeks to live,’ replied Orcilla.
‘You could at least take the necessary dosage of your own medication now that we are on the verge of a cure,’ said Yassmay as she walked in the laboratory room.
‘Welcome back,’ said Orcilla as she walked over to Yassmay to hug her.
Both Demadrian and Daily began clapping.
‘Let’s save Downs together,’ said Yassmay.
The four of them briefly hugged before getting back to work.
Three hours later.
‘I’m convinced it’s safe, and I’m confident it’ll work for most of them,’ said Orcilla.
‘I tend to agree, but at this point we can only assume its positive effects are permanent,’ replied Demadrian. ‘I’m also still baffled on how it restores memories.’
‘I assume it repairs tissue in the brain,’ said Yassmay. ‘This form of repair might be sufficient to recover memories.’
‘We lost our memories because our brains were shut down for a thousand years,’ said Demadrian. ‘We just need our brains to get used to functioning as they did before. They are not damaged.’
Orcilla and Yassmay looked at Demadrian and smiled.
‘Then again, everything else Hamish has said has checked out,’ said Demadrian as he shrugged his shoulders.
‘Let’s head over to the medical centre to find some volunteers,’ said Daily.
The four of them headed to the door when Orcilla had to stop. She was feeling dizzy. She had to place her hand on the wall to stop herself from falling.
‘We need to get you back on your correct dosage as soon as possible,’ said Yassmay firmly. ‘There’s no point in having spare medication if you’re going to die before you use it.’
‘Now is not the time to be stubborn,’ said Daily as he put his arm around Orcilla. ‘We need you strong again.’
‘Okay,’ said Orcilla, nodding her head.
After Orcilla’s dizziness had passed, the four of them made their way over to the medical centre. When they arrived, Duffo and Miro were standing in the reception.
‘What took you so long?’ said Duffo. ‘I thought we were pressed for time.’
‘Just doing a bit of final testing,’ said Demadrian. ‘We wanted to make sure everything was fine.’
‘As expected, it is,’ said Duffo, shaking his head. ‘Come, let’s meet the volunteers. They’re in Ward F.’
The six of them entered Ward F. Yassmay quickly scanned the room with her eyes. She immediately noticed they all looked terrified. They had pulled their sheets up to their eyes, and they were shaking.
‘Are you sure they all willingly volunteered?’ Yassmay asked Duffo in an angry tone.
‘Of course,’ replied Duffo, scratching his head. ‘I asked them. They sort of agreed.’
‘He did ask them,’ added Miro. ‘He might have lacked a little tact.’
‘I simply told them how it is,’ said Duffo as he grinned.
‘We’ll start with ten volunteers,’ said Orcilla. ‘If we make good progress. We’ll include more.’
‘If I were you, I’d exclude those two,’ said Duffo loudly as he pointed to two patients. ‘They already look like the living dead.’
‘Maybe you should wait outside, son,’ said Demadrian as he patted Duffo on the back. ‘We’ll sort out consent.’
‘Would it help if I volunteered?’ asked Duffo. ‘I might not be dying, but I want my memory back. One of us has to try it at some point.’
‘Are you sure, son?’ said Demadrian, sounding concerned.
‘Lead by example, right!' replied Duffo.
‘I think that’ll make them feel better,’ said Orcilla as she noticed several of the patients nodding.
Orcilla, Daily, Demadrian, and Yassmay carried out the same process as last time. With much persuasion, they managed to obtain consent from nine of them. The nine volunteers and Duffo were transported to the medical centre in the laboratory. All ten of them were injected with the seaweed-based medication.
Polly entered the laboratory medical centre. ‘I was informed Duffo was given the seaweed-based medication to help restore his memories,’ said Polly.
‘He bravely volunteered,’ said Demadrian.
Duffo gestured by raising both his thumbs.
‘Restoring his memories is a little more complicated than just administering the seaweed-based medication,’ said Polly.
‘I suspected as much,’ said Demadrian in an annoyed tone.
‘We need to perform an additional procedure,’ said Polly. ‘We’ll have him returned to you in a couple of days.’
‘Why can’t you do it here?’ asked Demadrian.
‘We have specialised equipment that would take some time to install here,’ said Polly. ‘His next procedure is quite urgent. Installing the equipment here would put him in unnecessary danger.’
‘On that basis, I’d like to accompany him,’ said Demadrian firmly.
‘That is not a problem, sir,’ said Polly.
Polly and Demadrian escorted Duffo out of the medical centre.
‘Something is going on with them,’ said Orcilla.
‘Let them handle their own problems,’ said Yassmay to Orcilla. ‘We need to sort your medication out now.’
Daily rubbed Orcilla’s hand.
Outside Downs, Duffo, Polly, and Demadrian had arrived at the underground Linap’s campsite.
‘We’ll perform the procedure inside our vehicle,’ said Polly.
‘This seems absurd,’ said Demadrian as he grew more agitated.
L6 Linap poked his head out of a tent. ‘Demadrian, I want to speak with you in private,’ called out L6 Linap.
‘Sure, no problem, uncle,’ replied Demadrian as he joined L6 Linap in his tent.
‘You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this moment,’ said L6 Linap as he walked to the back of the tent.
‘A thousand years, I suppose,’ said Demadrian as he made his way to the centre of the tent.
‘Maybe longer,’ chuckled L6 Linap.
‘It’s possible, I guess,’ replied Demadrian. ‘I must thank you for everything you’re doing.’
‘Gratitude, that’s good,’ said L6 Linap. ‘I like to see gratitude. I also like to see obedience.’
‘Sure, no problem,’ said Demadrian, sounding a little concerned.
‘On your knees, please,’ said L6 Linap. ‘Pledge your loyalty to me.’
‘Is this really necessary?’ asked Demadrian, sounding frustrated.
‘If I say it is, it is,’ said L6 Linap, sounding angry as he walked towards Demadrian.
Demadrian slowly got down on his knees.
‘Good, very good,’ said L6 Linap as he leaned forward. ‘Look into my eyes. Look really hard.’
Demadrian stared into L6 Linap’s eyes.
‘Did any light bulbs flash on?’ asked L6 Linap as he began to smile broadly.
Demadrian stared deeply into his eyes. Memories began to flash through his head.
‘Take your time. It’s okay,’ chuckled L6 Linap.
‘It’s you,’ said Demadrian as anger came across his face. ‘It’s you.’
‘You can do better than that,’ shouted L6 Linap. ‘Say my name! Say my name!’
‘Tiberius!’ shouted Demadrian as he rose to his feet.
‘You nailed it,’ said Tiberius in a very smug tone.
‘Now, I’m going to kill you,’ said Demadrian as rage burnt in his voice.
‘Come on then,’ chuckled Tiberius.
Demadrian swung his arm at Tiberius in an attempt to punch him. Tiberius jumped back.
‘You can do better than that,’ said Tiberius as he moved towards a small table beside his bed.
Demadrian charged at Tiberius. Tiberius responded by rolling out of the way.
‘You can’t kill what you can’t touch,’ said Tiberius as he began to swagger.
Demadrian threw a punch, but Tiberius blocked it. Tiberius responded by punching Demadrian in the face.
‘You’re so pathetic,’ said Tiberius, shaking his head.
Demadrian threw another punch. Tiberius dodged and followed up with a kick to Demadrian’s stomach and then a punch to the temple. Demadrian fell to the ground.
Demadrian tried to get up, but Tiberius began to kick him.
‘Get up, loser,’ shouted Tiberius. ‘I didn’t wait a thousand years for this performance.’
Tiberius attempted to kick Demadrian again. Demadrian blocked him. He punched Tiberius in the side of the knee.
Tiberius backed off. Demadrian quickly got to his feet.
‘That’s it. Show me something,’ said Tiberius.
Demadrian charged towards Tiberius. Tiberius responded by kneeing Demadrian in the chest. He followed this up with several punches to his head. Demadrian was back down on his knees.
‘Last chance,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘Fail again and I’ll take you out of your misery.’
Demadrian got to his feet. Blood was running down his face. He walked towards Tiberius. He threw another punch. Tiberius blocked it. He threw a punch with his other hand. Tiberius blocked it again. He kicked Tiberius in the stomach. Tiberius bent forward in pain. Demadrian smashed him in the face several times with his knees. Tiberius quickly backed away from him.
Tiberius lifted his finger as he was about to talk again. Demadrian did not hesitate. He charged into Tiberius, knocking him flat on his back. He followed up with repeated punches to his face. He kept punching as blood splattered from Tiberius’ mouth.
Suddenly, Demadrian felt a sharp pain in his neck. Polly had entered the tent. She shot him in the back of the neck with a dart. Demadrian fell to his side as he winced in pain. Tiberius coughed as blood continued to splutter from his mouth.
‘I took the liberty to film some of this assault before I intervened,’ said Polly. ‘It appears his intention was to kill you.’
Tiberius continued to lie on his back as he breathed heavily.
Miro entered the tent. He looked at Tiberius and Demadrian lying on the floor. ‘Guards! Get in here now!’ he shouted as he poked his head outside the tent.
Miro’s guards grabbed Demadrian and removed him from the tent. Several medics entered and attended to Tiberius.
‘What happened, sir?’ asked Miro.
‘He tried to kill me,’ replied Tiberius as he struggled to speak. ‘He couldn’t handle me taking over the leadership.’
‘I’m so sorry, sir,’ said Miro. ‘I should have provided you with better security.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ said Tiberius as he held Miro’s hand. ‘I should be much firmer with my family members. This is not a lesson I’ll forget anytime soon.’
‘Would you like me to terminate him?’ asked Polly.
‘No, just keep him locked up for now,’ replied Tiberius. ‘You need to take care of Duffo.’
Polly quickly exited the tent.
‘You will need a few stitches,’ said the medic to Tiberius. ‘I think you also might be concussed.’
‘Then make him as comfortable as possible,’ said Miro, sounding concerned.
‘Thank you,’ replied Tiberius.
Meanwhile, at the medical centre, Yassmay was checking on the supply of medication. She was shocked to find the supply of Orcilla’s most important medication was considerably lower than it should have been. Yassmay made her way to the main medical centre to check on their supply. It was also greatly depleted.
Yassmay approached a medical attendant. ‘Why is there so little of this medication?’ Yassmay demanded as she held up a bottle.
‘I don’t know, friend,’ replied the medical attendant. ‘Maybe we haven’t been restocked from the warehouse.’
‘Call Colin and tell him that the medical centre in the laboratory needs to be restocked immediately,’ said Yassmay angrily.
‘I’ll do that immediately,’ said the medical attendant.
Yassmay shook her head angrily and stormed out of the medical centre.
Three days later, Yassmay and Orcilla were studying the results of some tests in the laboratory.
‘They’re getting better,’ said Yassmay excitedly.
‘Looks really good,’ replied Orcilla. ‘Still we need to exercise caution.’
‘Full body scans again,’ said Yassmay.
‘Yes, everything we can,’ said Orcilla.
‘You’re looking better,’ said Yassmay as she smiled at Orcilla.
‘I do,’ replied Orcilla. ‘I’m back on my full medication.’
‘I noticed the stock hasn’t been replenished yet,’ said Yassmay as she frowned. ‘What’s Colin’s problem?’
‘Don’t be mad,’ said Orcilla as she ran her fingers through Yassmay’s hair. ‘Colin works as hard as we do. I’ve seen him finish work after midnight many times.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ replied Yassmay.
‘If we’re not resupplied in a week, just pop by and remind him or just collect from him yourself,’ said Orcilla.
‘I’m sorry, I’m just so scared I’ll lose you,’ said Yassmay as she put her arms around Orcilla.
‘You won’t,’ said Orcilla as she kissed Yassmay on the head.
Outside the laboratory room, Yassme had turned invisible. She watched Yassmay and Orcilla interact through the window in the door.
That evening, Orcilla approached Miro. He was sitting by himself under the giant statue of Hamlet.
‘Your wonder cure is working great,’ said Orcilla. ‘I feel terrible for ever doubting you.’
‘Don’t feel bad. We’re all strangers,’ replied Miro. ‘I probably wouldn’t trust myself either if I were you.’
‘We want to administer the cure to all our sick,’ said Orcilla.
‘Of course,’ said Miro. ‘We have enough for all in the medical centre. We need to obtain more seaweed to cater to everyone else.’
‘I understand that you wouldn’t have such huge quantities,’ said Orcilla. ‘I’m amazed you have as much as you do considering Hamish was not even aware of our predicament when he made it.’
‘I think it is his great instincts,’ replied Miro.
‘Indeed!’ said Orcilla.
‘I’ll talk to Hamish tonight,’ said Miro. ‘He has a few conditions regarding handing over the rest of the seaweed cure. I’m sure he’ll be glad to explain them to you.’
‘No problem,’ replied Orcilla.
At that moment, Jenna approached Orcilla and Miro.
‘I need to talk to you urgently,’ said Jenna to Miro.
‘Would you mind excusing us?’ Miro asked Orcilla. ‘We have a family matter to discuss.’
‘No problem,’ replied Orcilla as she walked away.
‘I want to speak to my father,’ said Jenna. ‘Your guards won’t let me anywhere near him.’
‘I’m really sorry about that,’ said Miro as he placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘Your father has been injured.’
‘What happened?’ asked Jenna in a concerned tone. ‘Is he going to be okay?’
‘He’s going to be fine. Don’t worry,’ said Miro. ‘The bigger problem is your cousin Demadrian.’
‘I was told he was with Duffo,’ said Jenna. ‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘He tried to kill your father,’ said Miro in a sad tone. ‘Luckily, his cyborg intervened and saved him.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Jenna. ‘Why would he do such a thing?’
‘He would not accept your father becoming head of the family,’ said Miro as he looked at Jenna.
‘He’s wanted more power ever since we arrived,’ said Jenna, shaking her head. ‘He became the Head Science Officer because he promised to negotiate with you.’
‘Lust for power can make us do terrible things,’ said Miro.
‘What will become of him?’ asked Jenna.
‘That is up to your father,’ replied Miro.
‘When can I see him?’ asked Jenna. ‘I want to spend time with him.’
‘You’ll be able to see him tomorrow afternoon,’ said Miro with a smile. ‘He’s going to make a speech right here.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Jenna as she nodded.
Neither Miro nor Jenna realised that Orcilla had not left. She had become invisible and had listened in on their conversation.
The next day, the technicians set up a small stage in the town square. Most of the Downs residents had gathered to hear Tiberius’ speech. Yassmay, Yassme, Daily, Vulay, and Eugene stood in the front row to the right of the stage. On the other side were the Linap. Lily was on the roof of the Hotel Prison watching down.
Miro walked up on stage. He was holding a microphone.
‘Hello residents of Downs,’ said Miro as he walked and stopped in the centre of the stage. ‘Today marks the dawn of a great new era for this region.’
The audience applauded.
‘You have been plagued with death, illness, and infertility for too long,’ said Miro. ‘That ends now. I’d like to welcome on stage our ten volunteers.’
Nine of the volunteers from the medical centre walked on stage. They were followed by Duffo and finally by Orcilla.
Miro handed a second microphone to one of the elderly volunteers.
‘You need to speak into it for them to hear you,’ whispered Miro to the elderly volunteer.
‘Hello, friends,’ said the elderly volunteer. ‘A few days ago I was in bed feeling so, so ill. I thought my time was over. Now I feel better than I did five years ago.’
She started dancing, and the audience emphatically applauded. Miro took the microphone off her and handed it to Orcilla.
‘This has been the greatest struggle of my life,’ said Orcilla. ‘Just a week ago I thought I had failed. I thought I had failed everyone. Today, I feel redeemed. It has little to do with me but everything to do with Hamish Alset and his team. You’re the heroes of Downs.’
The audience applauded again. Yassme sighed and rolled her eyes. Vulay stared at the stage. There was deep concern in her eyes.
Orcilla handed the microphone to Duffo. ‘To not know your past or remember the names and faces of your loved ones is a horrible curse,’ said Duffo as he looked over to the other Linap. At first, his face appeared sad, but that suddenly changed as a broad smile came across it. ‘I no longer have to bear that curse. Now, I remember everything.’
The audience began to applaud again. Tiberius walked onto the stage, clapping. He then embraced Duffo for a few seconds before taking the microphone from him.
‘This seaweed is the greatest wonder cure ever invented,’ cried out Tiberius. ‘They were on their deathbeds just days ago, and now look at them. They can go home. They can be with their families. The younger ones can now start a family. They can have a life. A real life.’
The audience began cheering loudly.
‘This is just the start,’ shouted Tiberius. ‘There are hundreds more in the medical centre and thousands more at home who continue to suffer. We must now cure them, and we will do so. However, everything comes at a price.’
The audience continued to cheer.
‘One good favour needs to be returned with another good favour,’ said Tiberius in a more serious tone. ‘My family. My enormous family has had to endure a thousand years underground. They were forced down there by vile tyrants.’
Duffo’s face began to light up. Vulay folded her arms as she stared at Tiberius. Everyone else had quietened down.
‘In exchange for the remainder of the cure, we will need your help,’ said Tiberius as he made eye contact with Vulay. ‘Our skin and eyes are very sensitive to natural sunlight, our lungs are sensitive to the air, and large open spaces are very disorienting.’
Tiberius paused for a moment as he began to pace.
He looked at the large audience and frowned. ‘We want to live above ground again,’ he added as he stopped in the centre of the stage. ‘We want to live in communities just like you. We can’t do it on our own. We need your help.’
‘We’ll help! We’ll help! We’ll help!’ chanted most of the audience.
‘I don’t like where this is going,’ whispered Vulay to Eugene.
‘Considering that we have given you a life-changing cure,’ said Tiberius. ‘I feel it is only reasonable if you give us something life-changing in return. We propose that the residents of Downs play a key and active role in building our new settlements. We propose that Downs becomes a temporary base for us until these new settlements are ready.’
‘We’ll help! We’ll help! We’ll help!’ chanted most of the audience.
Orcilla snatched a microphone from Miro. ‘I understand everyone is excited about the cure,’ interrupted Orcilla. ‘There are still things we need to sort out.’
‘I offer you long, healthy lives,' said Tiberius as he walked to the front of the stage, 'and I will provide your civilisation with the opportunity to grow and thrive once more. In exchange, we merely ask for your help in providing us with homes.’
‘We do not negotiate terms in such a manner,’ interrupted Orcilla again.
‘No,’ shouted Tiberius. ‘The truth is that you would rather protect your position of power than save the lives of the great residents of Downs.’
The audience went quiet.
‘No, I would do anything to save you,’ said Orcilla as she looked around at all the angry faces.
‘Without action, they are just words,’ shouted Tiberius as he held his hand out to Orcilla.
Orcilla stared nervously at his outstretched hand.
‘No!’ shouted L1 Linap. ‘Do not surrender anything to him. This is your home.’
Tiberius tilted his head back and sighed. Then he looked directly at L1 Linap. After a few seconds, he began to smile. L1 Linap stared intensely back at him.
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.
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