Charlie took a pen out of his pocket and held it like a magic wand. Nifty could swear he saw a spark coming from its tip. Charlie continued, “OK what else.”
With an evil grin, Nifty said, “Well as one old man to another, I’d love to screw like a bunny again.”
Charlie knowingly shook his head, with a half-grin, “to a woman as pretty as Marline used to be, when she was still in college?”
“Hell yeah. And get my health back too.”
It may have been a reflection of the light onto the camera, but the pen looked like it had a cascade of lights shimmering off its end.
Charlie smiled, “And what would you give for that? Living in space again, your health, and a compliant, beautiful, devoted woman?”
“My entire fortune?”
Charlie sighed, “Nifty, you’re talking to the world’s richest man. Money isn’t important to me. Would you be willing to donate the next eight years of your life to a job? You’d have to be retrained a bit.”
“You know, I’m 72 years old and you want me to work for you for the next eight years of my life? If you could wave that magic pen of yours, and give me that, I’d do it for ten years.”
Charlie’s grin intensified and he shook his head. “You drive a hard bargain.”
***
Marline Corrigan was woken from her reverie by the doctor. “I have someone who wants to speak to you. He’s speaking to Nifty as well.”
Marline was wheeled out into an office. She was positioned with a headset and she faced a monitor. She immediately recognized Charlie Haines.
“You gave everyone quite a start Marline. Is it OK to call you Marline? Everyone calls me Charlie.”
Marline only nodded, then she realized that he couldn’t hear her so she said, “Yes, Charlie, I’m fine.”
“Marline, I just asked Nifty a question that I’d like to also ask you. If I were magical and could grant you any wish, what would it be?”
Marline thought, “I have everything I need. I’m an old woman now, Nifty loves me and I love him, I’m contented to live my remaining time like I have.”
Charlie looked quizzically at Marline, “Come now. I have a magic wand. I can do anything. You just want to die?”
Marline had a weak smile, “No. I don’t want to die, but I am dying. I’ve known that for months. At least I will go before Nifty.”
“What would you want besides death? I can do miracles. Name your wildest fantasy.”
“I’d love to be young and beautiful again. To have Nifty really desire me. To be at his side, and never have him look at any other wo … I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. You have to forgive a silly, old woman.”
Charlie grinned, “Nothing to forgive. Let’s say I could do that and allow Nifty to have access to the stars again, with you at your side. What would you give for that?”
“My soul.”
“No, that wasn’t what I’m looking for, nor want. Would you be willing to work for me for the next eight years? You’d be paid, and have a choice of actual jobs. Why don’t you and Nifty get back to me tomorrow evening, say at seven? I gave him a number and you call me next to his computer.”
***
Nifty returned to Marline’s room, it was empty. He asked a nurse where she was, and was told that the doctor had wheeled her out. No, there was no emergency. He waited fifteen more minutes when she was wheeled back in by the doctor. After the doctor left, Nifty said excitedly, “You’ll never guess who I just spoke to. Not in a million years.”
“Ah, Charlie Haines?”
Nifty looked at her oddly, “How did you know?”
“He just spoke to me too.” She put her hand on his and paused a few moments to catch her breath, she nodded at Nifty when she was ready and continued, “did he offer you health and a job?”
“The old coot offered me a job for eight years.”
“Me too.”
Nifty was stunned. He now knew the doctors didn’t know shit. He didn’t know much about Haines, but he didn’t lose money on any of his enterprises and he never lied. Eight years of employment for Marli, he knows something! He and Marline talked and compared notes. They were allowed to go home at 6 AM.
***
Charlie Haines appeared on the screen. Nifty had the phone set on speaker. “Was your proposal on the up-and-up?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Marline, who only had a nose-oxygen supplement on, asked, “You can make me young again, and Nifty won’t go wandering again?”
Before Nifty could protest, Charlie said, “I believe so. He still has complete free will, but I’d be willing to bet on it.”
Nifty interjected, “Marli, how could you say such a thing?”
Marline struggled for air for a second, faced Nifty with a grin then said, “Oh hush up. You always were a poor liar Nifty.” With a twinkle in her eye, she looked again at the monitor, “What would you bet?”
Charlie smiled, “You would still be in good health and beautiful, but I’d get you a job away from Nifty, if you want, and give you a two hundred thousand dollars nest-egg if he wanders. But I would still want you to work for me for eight years, in exchange for youth, beauty, health and a new start in life.”
“But what kind of job would I have? Most of my adult life, I was just a trophy wife for Nifty.”
Nifty started to protest, but was ignored by Charlie, “You also would be an astronaut, actually a space cowboy, like Nifty. Except in this case, you’d be herding asteroids and meteors, unless you want to work processing them, or want to work organizing the squads of cowboys. You can choose the job.”
“But I don’t know anything about flying on Earth, no less in space, Nifty was in NASA, not me.”
Charlie smiled, “Actually Nifty will be teaching everything to all the cowboys and girls and you will learn everything you need to know in two months on the way to the asteroid belt. I’ll send him a course outline. It follows the NASA approach, tailored for our needs. Plus, you both and his students will be enhanced with the InLife computers”
Nifty looked at the monitor, “You’re serious about all of this?”
Charlie beamed broadly, “Completely. And remember, I’ve never lost an investment yet.”
Nifty asked, “But how?”
Charlie explained that there was an experimental compound, which regains health, including repair of bone density and lung functioning. That they would be meeting with some recipients of it shortly. How they would be monitored, including finger and retinal printed, get a full medical workup, go to Jamaica, and receive the Panacea treatment and the InLife computer. Then they would be taken to Earth orbit, to fly beyond the Mars orbit, while Nifty would train them in-flight. He also cautioned them about not telling anyone about it, as it could easily be blocked by bad publicity.
***
The foreman of the Árbol Blanco Del Roble mine saw the wheezing old man, trudging up the hill to the mine. Even if he closed his eyes, he would know him by the sound of his ragged breath alone. Alfonso Corusso had been trained in the Universidad de los Andes. He was one of the few who graduated college with an engineering degree, before returning home, to be with his ailing mother in the hills of Columbia. Corusso was only 46, but he looked like he was in his seventies. The Americans called it Pulmón Negro, or black lung disease. It was THE widow maker.
“Señor Corusso, a moment please. There is a phone call for you, from America.”
“From America? I know no one from America. Silly Lupio is playing pranks again.” Alfonso started walking again.
“No, señor, Lupio entered the mine thirty minutes ago. I think it is someone very important.”
Hesitantly Corusso said in a whisper, “The mine owner?”
“No, I think even more important. He had me put the new computer on. He’s the great American who brought the electricity for the town.”
Alfonso tried to increase his s
tride to the small office, outside the entrance to the mine. He shuffled faster. He had been offered the foreman’s job twenty years ago, but he decided on taking the job at the head of the largest mining drill. It paid even better than the foreman’s job. The better paying job was dirty, cold, wet and the one behind the ‘widow maker’ drill. Although he always wore the nose air filter, enough rock dust had already entered his lungs to kill him. His wife, Briola, would get his savings of $50,000. It wasn’t much, but she would live out her remaining life in relative comfort in the Columbian mountains.
Alfonso entered the shack. The shack’s walls did not keep out the Columbian winds, especially those in the mountains. He walked inside. The windows did not open. He noticed, the cell phone lying open and one of the new American computers drawing power from the town’s new electrical supply. 24 hour a day power was only two years old in this town. He faced the monitor and saw a photograph of the great genius Carlos Haines. He looked again in the dimly lit room and saw that the picture was moving. Alfonse quickly picked up the cell phone.
“Alfonso Corusso, at your service. May I help you?”
“My name is Carlos Haines. Perhaps you have heard of me?”
The voice had the same overtones and character as the voice he heard in English a few times, but this man spoke flawless Columbian Spanish. “Yes, yes, I am humbled by your call, patrón. I am at your service, patrón.”
“No, not patrón, my name is Carlos. I have a special job that needs a respectable man who knows how to operate and repair equipment.”
“But patrón, excuse me Don Carlos, you probably want a stronger man. I was planning to retire soon. I barely can climb up the hill from town now.”
“Not a problem. We have access to medicines so new that even the rich have no access. We can pay six million pesos. But it will involve you leaving home for many years.”
“Oh patrón, I mean Don Carlos, my wife is ill, I need to be at her side. She is almost blind from diabetes.”
“She was the teacher at the school, yes? We can cure both your lungs and her diabetes and blindness. Would you be interested?”
“Patrón, surely you jest an old man such as I.”
In a stern voice Charlie said, “Alfonso Caruso, I never lie. As I gave power and phones to your town, I also only tell the truth. I will call back tomorrow. Speak to Briola and tell me your decision. I will call here again at 8 AM North American. I will also buy out your remaining contract at the mine, if you agree.”
***
The next day, as Alfonso walked up the hill, he noticed the foreman, his supervisor, and the banker from Bogotá pointing to him as he approached. He quietly entered the shack and they crowded around him to catch a glimpse of the world’s richest man. Alfonso said yes to Carlos Haines.
***
Two days later, Alfonso and Briola were picked up by a flying limousine. The limo flew them to the airport; they then flew into Washington DC, where a second limousine brought them to a five star hotel. En route to Bethesda Maryland, they were briefed on the full impact of the job offer and where it was to be, what Panacea has done, and the InLife computer interface.
Briola was shaking, when they reached their hotel room. They saw a laptop computer open as they walked into their three-room suite. Briola was too frightened to approach the computer. Alfonso touched it and Carlos Haines appeared. Carlos again spoke flawless Columbian Spanish.
“Good afternoon, Señor, how are you feeling?”
“Patrón, I am, I mean, we are feeling overwhelmed. The flying car that picked us up, only the drug czars are carried in such vehicles. I was expecting to take the bus to you, sharing it with the chickens. Then we are told about going beyond the moon. Only in movies have I ever thought about such things. You want me, an old miner to be an astronaut. This is all confusing to me. You also said that the new drug would make my Briola and me young and healthy. Patrón, I was not born yesterday, Cortez looked for the fountain of youth, not Alfonso Corusso.”
“Señor y Señora, Alfonso and Briola, excuse me for rushing things. Perhaps I should have let you ride the bus. You could have thought over what we had said more slowly. You must forgive me. I am a man of action. We wanted you to visit us. We North Americans are always so busy. I apologize if I rushed you. Please, please forgive me. I would like to have the first two people who got Panacea to speak to you and Briola. If that is acceptable? They are also a couple. They were very ill from a life-long disease that prevented them from moving and were dying. I will show you some pictures from when we first met them. I’ve written the Spanish translations on the screen, so you can understand what was said.”
A movie appeared of Malcolm meeting Sidney and Janet for the first time. The Corussos listened to Dr. Brown tell Malcolm and Roderick that Mal was dying and only had a few weeks to live. The movie replayed Mal asking to participate for the good of LPH Deficiency patients. It then showed Mal being carried onto the bed. The next scene showing his death and the crying parents. It then showed the image of Malcolm climbing out of the grave.
Briola shrieked, “Merciful God!”
“The next scene is me talking to the man in charge of all drugs in the United States. The other three men have won the Nobel prizes in Biology. I want you to listen to how the DNA was changed, and the effects on their biology. I want you also to realize that the death you heard is the body resting and regrowing all the broken and worn out parts. This is not the work of a demon, but the body made better and fixing every single cell. We believe that the length of time they are resting is related to how badly broken the body had been.”
The image next appeared of Dr. Horvitz explaining how the DNA was morphed from 23 to 1 chromosome. The Corussos listened to the discussion with the head of the FDA. Finally, they listened to how they needed secrecy for the patients and more patient experiences.
“If you are able, could you meet with Malcolm and his new wife Brenda over dinner? They will describe what changes they have felt. They will also explain the effects of the new computer that is attached to their brain. If you change your mind, I will be happy to send you home.”
The image of Charlie Haines disappeared from the screen.
“Al, I am frightened. I’ve never been a religious woman, but he is changing people away from God’s image. He is changing Man.”
“But Bree, I am scared too, but what if this is just a better medical treatment, like your medications. I don’t want you to die, my love. Think of the money it would mean for the village if we send only half of our paychecks to town. In one year, they could build a Briola Corusso Primary and Secondary School.”
***
Their meeting with Malcolm and Brenda was far from what they expected. The met the Coombs at the hotel restaurant.
They had expected a brash fast-talking American. Instead, they met with the soft-spoken Malcolm and the shy Brenda. Communication was slowed, as every time the Corussos talked there was a noticeable delay as the words were internally translated into English. When the Coombs talked, there was a delay as the words were changed from English to Spanish.
Malcolm translated the menu into Spanish. He helped the Corussos order their meal.
“Carlos Haines has told me about how you made the mine so much safer. How you fought the mine owners for better and safer equipment. I’m envious. You have done great work for your community. And Señora Corusso, you have educated almost all the children in your town from ignorance. In fact, two generations of children. With almost no books, in a room which gets no heat. You are both heroes.”
Briola spoke, “How does Patrón Haines know of these things?”
Malcolm shrugged, “I don’t know, but from what I’ve read in the papers, he seems to be everywhere, doing good. It is said that all of South America has cell phone coverage and 88% now has regular electricity. Only the smallest communities away from all others lack electricity. Is it tru
e that towns pay him in chickens and kilos of coffee?”
Alfonso felt pride in his village, “Sí, we paid him yearly one hundred forty bags of fresh coffee beans for the entire village and mine. With the electricity and the new flying trucks, we’ve been able to increase our village’s growing to a thousand bags. People are warm in their houses, without stripping the mountains of their trees. Water flows from the wells, even when it doesn’t rain. And when we have a mine accident, the doctor can fly to us the same day.”
Alfonso hesitated, “But tell me about the Panacea. Where you a cripple? I’m sorry, should I ask such things?”
Brenda reached across the table and rested her hands on Alfonso, “Yes, we were cripples. The disease we had killed the neurons in our hands and legs. We could no longer feel things or move our bodies. I could not even raise my hand. It also caused our liver and spleen to get larger, crushing other organs. When my doctor in Canada said I was going to die in two months, I knew it was true. To answer a question you’re probably going to ask, the shot of Panacea did not hurt at all, I felt nothing for two days. At the beginning of the third day, I felt very hot and confused. I was told I lost consciousness. Then on the third day, I stopped breathing and my heart stopped. However, my spleen and liver repaired itself, so did my neurons. When I awoke, I could feel my fingertips again, for the first time in years. Everything tingled. It was the most marvelous thing in the world. Then I re-met Malcolm, and I knew this was the man I would marry.”
Brenda flushed.
Briola asked, “Are you able to move your hands again? Excuse me, that was a silly question.”
Brenda asked, “Briola, could you pass the metal dish to your husband?” The dish was a three by five inch stainless steel empty plate that had held a shrimp appetizer. “Now try to bend it.”
Alfonso tried to bend it, but was unable. “Sorry, it is too strong.”
Brenda picked it up gingerly. She put two fingers on either side, and squeezed. The dish instantly buckled. She handed it back to Briola. Briola, then Alfonso, were unable to move it. Malcolm then bent it back, so it appeared like new.
Malcolm spoke, “After Panacea, I got a job working in a department store. I was hired after I picked up a heavy leather sofa by myself. They called me Hercules Coombs.”