Immortal

  ‘That won’t be necessary, I’m sure,’ the doctor said. ‘I haven’t come across an immortal insurance policy that wouldn’t fully cover a case you described.’

  ‘That is the detail I meant,’ Amaranthine looked him in the eye, ‘my friend isn’t an Immortal… yet.’

  ‘Oh, I see,’ the doctor sighed. ‘So she’s under 25 years of age. That… could complicate things a little, but nothing we cannot overcome. So long as she hasn’t had any children, she is eligible for temporary treatment with the use of the Cure.’

  ‘Is that how you treat your coma patients?’

  ‘The Cure is the most effective medicine ever invented, Miss Quinn,’ the doctor said, clearly confused by the necessity to state such obvious facts. ‘It enables all the organs in our body to constantly renew themselves. This is why we go on living. A coma is normally caused by damage to some part of the nervous system, and that damage is treated with concentrated doses of the Cure, applied in a way most suited to the nature and exact location of the damage. The most difficult aspect of the whole treatment is the diagnosis, finding the exact spot where neurological functions have been impaired. This requires equipment, knowledge and the experience that we possess. Therefore you needn’t worry about your friend, as her recovery, should she be transferred to our clinic, is simply a matter of time.’

  ‘Of course,’ Amaranthine replied, but her voice sounded as if it came from a deep hollow. ‘I understand. That’s great news.’

  ‘You can find all necessary forms on our globesite,’ the doctor said, clearly signaling that the consultation was over. ‘We are ready as soon as you are.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Amari stood up. Her handbag, which she forgot was on her lap, fell to the floor. ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ She crouched down to collect the contents that scattered on the floor.

  ‘I… will fill out the forms immediately,’ she said, standing up and shaking the doctor’s hand goodbye.

  ‘I look forward to receiving your friend’s application.’

  Amaranthine stepped outside doctor Turrow’s office, but as the door closed behind her, she was unable to take another step. She stood there for a while, clutching her handbag, fighting the feeling of desperation that overwhelmed her. In her whole life, life as an Immortal, everything had always been possible. Often hard, requiring a lot of effort, and determination, but possible. Achievable. All she needed to do was to draw a plan of action and execute it in detail. Life seen from the perspective of a Mortal, however, seemed to be full of unconquerable obstacles.

  Susan could never be treated in an Immortal clinic, because she had had two children. It seemed obvious and logical now, but she hadn’t exactly been thinking logically in her quest to help Daniel’s sister. She let emotions lead her and make her believe everything could be done, because she’d always achieved what she wanted. But in this case she hit a brick wall.

  Everything that went wrong in a body of an Immortal could just be fixed by the Cure, used in the right concentration and place. No wonder immortal clinics had such high rates of success; they had the ultimate panacea to all health problems at their disposal. But this panacea was out of reach for Mortals, even in life-threatening or very serious cases like Susan’s. Had she only had one child, there could maybe be a way around it, as Amari knew Daniel’s sister was married. Her husband could declare he’d never become an Immortal, making it possible for Susan to receive the Cure. With the second child, though, this door was ultimately closed. There was a child per each parent and therefore none of them could ever be given treatment based on the pure form of the Cure. TAMI was non-negotiable on this matter. Mortals were not eligible to receive any Cure-based treatment, or even any of the Cure-derived medicines. It was strictly out of bounds for them.

  Doctor Turrow’s next patient entered the waiting room and was immediately called in; Amaranthine had to move away from the door to let him in. Once she started walking, she continued until she got to her hovercar. She programmed it to take her back to Asia, then ordered Eiko to cancel all the four appointments she had made with other clinics. There was no point in attending them – she knew she would hear the same from them as she did from doctor Turrow. She needed a brand new plan, based on some loophole she had no knowledge of. But if such a loophole existed, she would find it and use it no matter what it would take.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  She started doing research immediately, in her hovercar on the way back to Asia. There had to be a precedent, even if it was just one in history, which would give her a basis for getting Susan placed in an immortal facility. A tiny crack in the system, a back door, a loophole. Surely there’s something! There were no ultimate rules, each had at least one exception, that’s how it always worked.

  Hours passed, though, and nothing came up. No case, no mention of any exceptional circumstances under which TAMI’s article 3 could be overruled. Not even a footnote, neither in immortal nor in mortal sources.

  ‘Damn it!’ Amaranthine cursed after umpteenth announcement from Eiko informing her that her mission was hopeless. She kept searching, refusing to take no for an answer.

  She didn’t reach Beijing, where the band were performing that week, until four o’clock in the morning local time. She wouldn’t be able to continue her search until the afternoon, she needed to get some sleep before the press conference she had in the morning. She programmed Eiko to run some analyses and predictions, and snoozed off for a few hours.

  As soon as she was free again, she went back to looking for options, but by the late evening it was clear her efforts were in vain. All she found were justifications of refusals in cases such as Daniel’s sister. They all referred to TAMI, which couldn’t be clearer on terms of use of the Cure: no person whose biological status was determined as “mortal” due to possession of offspring, was eligible for a Cure-based treatment under any circumstances. It was believed that any exceptions would lead to abuse of the system, and were therefore strictly forbidden. It was a part of the deal: you choose to be a Mortal, and to have a family – then you live your life as if the Cure didn’t exist.

  Amaranthine began to understand that she would have to think of a different way. There clearly was no legal option. But she was desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures.

  She seriously started considering bribery.

  It was bound to have happened before. Susan was not the first ever Mortal whose life was important to someone with Amaranthine’s position and resources. Money opens a lot of doors, she thought, it’s always been true and it always will be. Examples were abundant, with Mr. Paramonos a prime one. He must have bribed his share of people to be able to lead his double life for so long. And if people like him could do it and were prepared to take the risk for the sake of having kids, she was prepared to break the rules for the sake of saving Daniel’s sister. It was a matter of one treatment, after which Susan would never get the Cure again. Immortals owed her that much.

  As soon as she made her decision, she set Eiko to work again. This time, she was looking for very different type of information. She had her computer analyze dozens of clinics, thousands of cases, applying different criteria in order to find the one she would approach. She was looking for any anomalies, any facts or events that stood out, suggesting that a clinic was likely to break the rules and accept a Mortal for treatment in exchange for some cash. If they had done it even once in the past, chances were they would do it again.

  Her tactic paid off after only a couple of hours. She found two clinics that seemed to meet the criteria, and after another hour of careful analysis, she was sure.

  They were both excellent facilities, maybe not on par with her top five original choices, but still of the highest quality. What made them stand out, though, were their finances, which after a closer look strongly suggested additional sources of income. It wasn’t anything strikingly obvious, but for an observant eye like Amari’s, details of interior design, materials used for decoration, pieces of artwork, the ow
ner’s hobbies and lifestyles, whispered cash under the table. There was no way they could afford all those little luxuries based on the officially declared income.

  She scheduled appointments with both for the next night and spent the rest of her free time rehearsing what she would say at the crucial moment.

  Before she knew it, she was on her way back to the States, still running some last-minute simulations, as to the final amount she’d offer the clinics to take Susan in. Treating her mission as another business negotiation helped her stay focused and took her mind off the risks. She refused to consider what would happen if she got caught; instead, she convinced herself that if she covered all angles, it simply couldn’t go wrong, so it was better to get them right rather than stress over what-ifs.

  Still the emotions got to her as she spent another half an hour in the clinic’s waiting room. She paced up and down, then sat down, then got up to pace again. Just like at Dr. Turrow’s clinic, other patients looked at her with frowns.

  She didn’t pay any attention to them. She was confident that the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars she was going to offer would convince the doctor to admit Susan and treat her. As soon as that was agreed, she would be able to fly straight to Scotland and see Daniel. Give him the good news, see the smile on his face and the hope in his eyes. She tried not to think about him before she actually secured his sister’s treatment, but she found it very hard; she hadn’t seen him for over a week now and she missed him like crazy.

  One more patient and then it was her turn. She forced herself to sit down and stare at the wall, doing the final rehearsal in her mind.

  There was a sudden tumult on the corridor outside. A few people, walking fast and with deliberate noise of heavy boots. What is going on, Amari thought, looking up at the door. The steps were approaching. She remembered there were other doors past the waiting room, but she had a strange feeling they were headed right here.

  She was right.

  Three men burst into the waiting room. Two uniforms and one in civilian clothes, clearly in charge. The receptionist jumped to her feet, white as paper.

  ‘NYPD, ILV Division,’ the man said, flashing his badge. ‘I have a warrant here for the arrest of Dr. Stanley,’ he lifted his idatron up to the receptionist’s face, displaying the document. ‘Would you kindly point me in the right direction.’

  The receptionist, now whiter than snow, lifted a shaking hand and pointed at the door behind which Dr. Stanley’s last patient disappeared. The man nodded and headed straight for it, flanked by his uniformed muscle.

  Amaranthine stood up in spite of herself, speechless, trying to process what was happening. It didn’t take her long to figure it out. She knew, even before the men entered the doctor’s office and before the officer recited the man his rights. Before the two uniforms grabbed him, handcuffed his hands behind his back and walked him out the door.

  ILV Division. Immortal Law Violations. This could mean only one thing.

  The clinic she was trying to bribe just got busted.

  She had a couple of hours to wrap her head round it on the way back to Beijing, but she gave up trying half way there. What were the damn chances of that happening five minutes before she was to have a conversation with that doctor and convince him to take her money in exchange for admitting Daniel’s sister to his ward? She knew she should be considering herself lucky – had she made her deal before the bust, she would have lost the money at best, and at worst, she’d end up in the middle of an investigation and probably be charged, with at least a few year’s ban on using the Cure. But all she felt at this moment was frustration over yet another failure. She was back to square one. All those hours of research and planning went down the drain. Her goal was almost within reach, she nearly saved Daniel’s sister, and it slipped away, leaving behind a feeling of defeat and resignation. Not to mention, she was getting sick of NYPD detectives arresting people she was trying to do business with.

  She didn’t know what to do next. Going for the second appointment now was pointless; the bust was already all over the media and any clinic that bent the rules would lie low for months on end. Until the dust settled, greed would lose against fear. She would need much stronger arguments than just money to convince anyone to take the risk, and she didn’t have them. Dr. Stanley was her best shot; she knew he had a gambling problem, which probably provided the initial impulse for treating Mortals illegally. The other doctor she selected took bribes to simply finance his luxurious tastes.

  An incoming call from Daniel Collins, rang in her head. Daniel calling at this time? As far as he knew, she was in Beijing, fast asleep in her hotel room. Why would he call now? Unless he had something very important to tell her – maybe Susan woke up from the coma and he was calling to share the good news?

  ‘Daniel? Is everything all right?’

  ‘Hi, Amari. Yeah, nothing urgent, just called on the off chance you might be awake. Eiko said you were, but I wasn’t sure… were you awake?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she replied. ‘How is it going?’

  ‘No change,’ he said, crushing her hopes. ‘She’s stable, but showing no signs that she may come to any time soon. We’ve decided to take her home.’

  ‘Can you do that? I mean, doesn’t she need to be cared for?’

  ‘My Mum is a nurse,’ he explained. ‘She will look after Susan at home. The doctors believe this may help.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘They say it’ll give her a sense of security. Being surrounded by family, familiar sounds, smells, even the baby’s crying… it may trigger some response in her brain and motivate it to come out of the coma.’

  ‘Right… sounds like a lot of work for your Mum, though. I mean, with the baby as well. Can she manage?’

  ‘You don’t know my Mum,’ Daniel replied, ‘she’d manage a dozen babies if she needed to. Besides, the whole family will be helping out, they’ve even created a sort of roster already. Nick and Chloe, Susan’s husband and daughter, are temporarily moving into my parents’ house.’

  ‘Sounds like your family are extremely well organized,’ Amari said. ‘And supportive.’

  ‘Yes, they’re a good bunch,’ she could hear a shadow of a smile in his voice. ‘They deal with hardships of life by taking things into their own hands. Being busy helps them cope.’

  ‘That’s a very wise approach,’ Amari said with genuine admiration. That would be her own idea of coping with obstacles.

  ‘Anyway, that means I can go back to work in a couple of days,’ Daniel announced. ‘I will fly home regularly, of course, but apart from that I’ll be working as usual.’

  ‘I can’t wait to see you,’ Amari whispered, barely able to harness her excitement, ‘but if you need more time, please don’t rush back.’

  ‘Thanks Amari, but there’s absolutely nothing I can do to help here,’ he said, his voice brittle and distant, ‘Life must go back to normal, as far as it’s possible.’

  ‘You know nothing will make me happier than having you back,’ she said. ‘I just wish there was something I could do to help your sister.’

  ‘Thanks Amari, I appreciate it,’ he forced a smile, ‘but unfortunately all we can do now is wait and hope.’

  ‘I’ll see you in a couple of days, then.’

  ‘I’ll be there.’

  Excitement for seeing Daniel in less than 48 hours kept her awake in turns with disappointment and frustration that she had no way to help him. As a result, she was completely baffled the next day and focusing on conversations cost her tremendous effort. Her thoughts swirled in her head, desperately trying to come up with a new plan, a new possibility. There had to be something more she could do apart from ‘waiting and hoping.’

  There was no other possibility. No other option or scenario. No other chance. And yet, there had to be.

  She just needed to find it.

  ‘Ok, we’re good to go here,’ Daniel concluded, having finished testing the sound system. ‘It’s all se
t.’

  ‘Great,’ Amari smiled. ‘Time for lunch. You wanna go for a little walk?’

  ‘Sure, I could do with some fresh air.’

  His hovercar dropped them off at Circular Quay and Daniel sent it back to the hotel to be parked. They walked slowly towards the old Sydney Opera House, passing some half-naked Aborigines who were making strange noises by blowing into long, thick tubes covered with colorful patterns.

  ‘What are these things?’ she asked.

  ‘Didgeridoos,’ Daniel smiled.

  ‘Didge… what?’

  ‘Didgeridoos,’ he laughed. ‘Aborigines have played them for centuries. You wanna try?’

  ‘What, to play one?’ she laughed. ‘You must be joking.’

  ‘I’m totally serious. It’s fun, you’ll see. There, that guy offers quick lessons.’

  She was still laughing at the idea, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the man. They squeezed past a ring of tourists surrounding him and Daniel handed him the fare, signaling that it was for the two of them.

  They sat on low stools next to their teacher and tried to follow his instructions, but Amaranthine couldn’t stop laughing every time Daniel puffed out his cheeks and blew into the instrument. When she tried, it produced either no sound at all or some squeaky noises that made her laugh even more.

  ‘You need to cover only half the hole with your mouth,’ Daniel instructed her, demonstrating and blowing into his didgeridoo again, giving her another laughing fit.

  When their ten minutes was over, they walked slowly away, holding hands.

  Amaranthine was enjoying the sunshine, the light breeze from the sea and the feeling of Daniel’s hand clasped around hers. She still couldn’t believe he was back. She’d missed his spontaneity and all the strange, silly things he made her try.

  He arrived as they were packing up after Beijing and they came to Sydney together. They didn’t have much time for each other the first couple of days, as there turned out to be a problem with the sound system in the concert hall where Carpe Diem were scheduled to perform at the weekend. It took Daniel and Frankie almost two days to get to the bottom of it and fix it. Now that it was up and running as it should be, they could finally steal some time away together.