Midshipman Henry Gallant in Space

  * * *

  Outside the Officer’s Club, Gallant tapped his comm pin and asked directions to the medical facilities. He waited several minutes for a small taxi service to take him to the hospital.

  When he arrived, a nurse greeted him as he signed in. She led him to a room for minor surgical procedures. He removed his uniform blouse. She removed his bandages and placed a sterile cover over each of his hands. The cover had a hole that exposed his burns.

  “A little stick,” she said, and she plunged a needle into his hands, one at a time, and injected them with analgesic.

  “You won’t feel any pain. You can watch so long as you keep your hands perfectly still while the surgeon performs the procedure. Okay?”

  Gallant nodded as the doctor entered and began looking over the wounds. He didn’t feel any pain and watched in fascination as the surgeon peeled away his damaged skin. Then collagen and the new skin, grown from his stem cells, was grafted onto his hands and bandaged.

  The doctor smiled, “A perfect job, if I do say so myself. Though, if you had had genetic enhancements, your stem cells would have produced a cleaner match.”

  “Do you see mostly genetically enhanced personnel?” asked Gallant.

  “Well, that’s a complicated question. All UP fleet officers are genetically enhanced because they are required to use neural interfaces either as pilots, astrogators, missile officers, or for general AI operations aboard ship. Hmm..., I see from your records that you’re the single exception to that rule.” The doctor paused and looked closer at Gallant. “On the other hand, I also treat UP enlisted personnel, station workers, miners, merchant fleet personnel, and colonists. They are a mixed bag of genetically engineered and non-engineered. As you’re no doubt aware, while Earthers have been making genetic engineering a routine procedure for several generations, colonists have been slower to adopt the practice. I’m not sure if it’s the pioneer spirit of individuality that motivates them, or if it’s just a lack of adequate medical facilities within the colonies.”

  “Are the genetic enhancements pretty much the same for all people,” asked Gallant, curious to get specific details from a medical expert.

  “Oh, no,” said the doctor. “Everyone’s DNA is unique, except for twins of course. So each DNA enhancement is a custom job. The doctor must take the DNA from the father sperm donor and impregnate an egg from his female partner. The DNA of the resulting embryo is then extracted and chemically altered by removing diseased or disadvantage genes, and then favorable enzyme and hormone production genes are turned on. The fertilized embryo is then implanted in the female’s womb and she carries the baby to term. The results are often good, but not perfectly uniform, hence the variation in performance of UP officers.”

  The doctor’s face formed a puzzled look as he asked Gallant, “I don’t quite understand how you are able to use the neuron interface without the enhanced enzyme and hormone production capabilities. Tell me Mr. Gallant how has your performance, as a pilot, been?”

  “Adequate, doctor," said Gallant uncomfortably. He asked, "How about my hands? When can I get the bandages removed?”

  “You can remove the bandages in three days. There will be no scarring. By next week, you won’t be able to tell you ever had a problem.”