Brenda said, “Before the treatment I couldn’t move my hands at all. I’ve been working at a fast food store. Have you heard of Burger King, it’s like McDonalds?” Briola shook her head yes. “The manager says he can’t see my hands place the order, I do it so fast.”
Alfonso said, “This was due to Panacea?”
Malcolm squeezed Brenda’s hand and said in his quiet voice, “Without it, we’d be dead, Señor.”
Alfonso then asked, “What about this computer. Can it make me an astronaut?”
Malcolm turned bright red as he said something to Brenda sub-vocally. After a pause, he said, “We don’t know Spanish. The computer has been translating everything we’ve said. We’re still very, very new at it. It’s scary how much it can do. Last night, we couldn’t sleep and we came into the bar after everyone left. I saw a piano and sat down by it. I said I wish I could play. The computer then asked me what, so I said a love song for Brenda. It told me to relax my hands and I started to play ‘our’ song. Without me saying it, it knew which song to play.”
Brenda said, “He played it so well too. And he sang it also.” She looked lovingly at Malcolm.
Malcolm hastily said, “It didn’t control me or anything, it just sent a tingling feeling to each muscle and told me which finger to use when. It took me a week to allow myself to relax enough to let it lead like that. But to answer your question, yes, it could teach you how to be an astronaut. You will have a full astronaut giving you instructions whenever you need it here.” Malcolm pointed to his head.
Briola asked, “You believe that this Panacea could make us healthy again?”
Brenda nodded, “Yes, so does the head of the United States drug authority and two Nobel laureates I met. They didn’t believe at first, but you can tell, they do now. In fact, it works so well, they first thought that it might be some trick, like Malcolm and I were two sets of twins, one with the disease, and one without. Now they’re taking fingerprints, ear prints, and eye prints, just to prove that it’s working.”
Briola asked, “But will it make my Alfonso and me healthy again. I am almost blind and have diabetes, and my Alfonso has Black Lung disease.”
Malcolm slowly asked, “Did you speak to Charlie Haines?”
Briola said, “Sí”.
“Did Charlie say he would make you healthy again?”
“Sí”.
Malcolm smiled, “Then Sí. If he said he would make you healthy then he will. My dad said that Charlie never lies. My dad also works for Charlie.”
***
The next day, the Corussos were examined by three sets of doctors. Many of the same tests were repeated. They were photographed from many angles, especially their eyes and ears. Fingerprinting was also done of both hands and feet. The testing continued the next two days as well. A small tattoo was placed on the heel of their feet.
***
While waiting in one of the Bethesda Hospital clinics, an elderly man approached the Corussos. He spoke very poor Spanish. He said, “Señor Corusso, mine name is Doctor Alfried Knoble. My wife is Marta. Where?” He pointed to a woman sitting on a bench to the side.
“I am Nobel Laurelate in Biologicals. And I Panacea also soon. And I your doctor in”, Dr. Knoble paused and pointed straight up.
Briola said “Ahh, en espacio.”
Alfried looked quite embarrassed, “Me Spanish is very bad. Malcolm Coombs, he computer speak Spanish very good you.”
Briola said, “Sí. Malcolm habló español muy bien. Él utilizó la computadora.”
Alfried was able to make out 60% of the woman’s Spanish. He understood that Malcolm understood Spanish and something about what sounded like computers. He had met the young man with his shy wife. The Carussos moved near where the Knobles were seated and they continued their conversation.
Alfried said in Spanish, “Malcolm and Brenda is very sugary and valuable. He are good boy.”
Alfonso pointed to his chest and coughed, “Very bad. Panacea good? And my wife, no” he said something in Spanish which Alfried couldn’t translate but then Alfonso pointed at his eyes.”
“Yes, Panacea is good where” and Alfried pointed to Alfonso’s chest and Briola’s eyes. He hadn’t studied Spanish since high school. Alfried was very proud that he was able to communicate at all. He added, “and good Marta’s Alzheimer’s.”
Alfonso said in Spanish to his wife, “Alfried Knoble is a Nobel laurelate in Biology. He said he will be our doctor on the ship. He also said that Panacea will cure our diseases and even his wife’s Alzheimers.”
Briola said, “Yes, I understood that. He’s a Nobel prize winner?”
“Sí.”
Just then they heard a nurse ask for “Marta Knoble”. Alfried had his wife stand and they left the waiting area for additional testing.
***
Three days later, Alfonso met the Knobles again at the airport. They were in a special area for international charter flights. Everyone apparently knew Malcolm and Brenda. Malcolm and Brenda individually mingled with each person. Many were made more comfortable. To others he re-iterated their schedule and told them what to expect next. He eventually came to Alfonso and Briola with another couple in tow. The man was using a walker and moved very slowly and the woman was carrying an oxygen tank that she had hooked up to provide a trickle of oxygen to her nose.
“Señor Carusso this is Nifty Corrigan and his wife Marline. Nifty is a former astronaut with NASA.” Malcolm then turned to Nifty and his wife. “Nifty and Marline, this is Alfonso and Briola Corusso. Nifty is a miner and an expert with tools. He also has an engineering degree.”
At that moment both Alfonso and Marline started to cough. Simultaneously, each felt very self-conscious of their terminal illness, and how the other might react. ‘Will they think they can get sick from me?’ flashed in each one’s minds. They looked at each other and suddenly realized that the other probably had the same thought. They smiled.
***
The charter flight from Dulles to Jamaica took a while for seating, due to the large number of very ill patients who needed special arrangements. There was a palpable feeling of electricity in the air and a strong feeling of apprehension.
Nifty was seated next to his wife. “Marli, did you notice anything strange?”
She looked around, “Yes. The people are really young and sick or old and sick.”
Nifty nodded, “Yeah, notice anything strange about the young ones?”
“They’re scared. I can see it in their faces.”
“Yes, but did you notice that they’re all in pairs? Boy and girl. The same pairing as at the hospital.”
Marline looked around for a bit, “No, not all. There are two girls back there and there are two pairs of boys there.” Marline unobtrusively pointed to the three couples.
Nifty said, “OK, they’re not all boy-girl, but they all are pairs, couples. Now look at the others. We’re all paired up. Did you notice that Japanese guy and that Congolese woman at the clinic from yesterday? They were called up at the same time. They knew each other. I don’t think they knew each other before last week. The Japanese guy is 60, if he’s a day, and that Congolese woman looked like she broke her spine qualifying for an Olympic equestrian event. They’re sitting next to each other now too.”
Marline stood up to stretch, while looking around, and then sat again.
She turned to Nifty, “Come to think of it, I see a few unusual ’couples’ around here. Make believe you’re looking for an attendant, but four rows behind me and to the left is a 55 year old woman and a 12 year old boy. Now they don’t look like a mother with her son to me.”
“Marli, did you remember when they said that Panacea makes you younger? Did you notice that they didn’t say for how long? I just assumed that they just turned the clock back and it continues running forward. What if they had a way of stopping aging?”
Marline said, “What
are you getting at?”
“Marli, would you think that when that woman turns 655 years old that she’ll still be calling the 612 year old ‘Sonny’? One second.”
Nifty reached up and called the attendant. The woman asked, “How can I help you sir?”
“Miss”, said Nifty, “do you see that balding man over there six rows in front of us, to the right? That’s Alfried Knoble. Could you ask him to come over here?”
Alfried Knoble came back to Nifty, “How can I help you Mr. Corrigan?”
Nifty asked in a hushed voice, “A couple of questions, Herr Doctor Knoble. Following the Panacea treatment, how long are we expected to live?”
Alfried nervously looked around, and then in a quiet voice meant only for Nifty and Marline, “You realize that Panacea is all new, and we don’t have any long term data.”
“Yes”
“Well”, he nervously looked around, “well, theoretically, oh, we’re not sure, you know. We can’t do any testing on animals, you know. But ... it’s all preliminary, and we just know from some genetic tests and some speculations from the geneticist at Organic Technology, and”
“Could you get to the point?”
“It’s all speculative, you know”, in an even lower voice, he said, “forever.”
A cold shiver went up Nifty’s spine. He heard Marline draw in a deep breath, and then she started to wheeze. Alfried left and returned with a glass of water. Meanwhile Nifty turned up the oxygen and had Marline do a relaxation exercise.
Alfried was concerned for Marline’s health. However, she quickly stabilized.
Nifty asked, “I noticed that we’re all paired up. Is this Charlie Haines doing?”
Alfried looked around again and said quietly, “It seems to be one of the few negative, or positive, side effects of Panacea, depending on how you look at it. It tends to create and greatly strengthen a dyadic bond between Panacea recipients.”
Nifty said, “A potion of love, doc?”
Alfried had a sheepish grin, shrugged his shoulders, and nodded in agreement.
Nifty said “Thanks.” Alfried returned to his seat next to his wife, Marta.
Marline squeezed Nifty’s upper arm, “I never thought I’d be happy to lose a two hundred thousand bet. What about you? Do you want to be saddled with an old bag like me?”
“He did say we’d be screwing like bunnies and you’d be beautiful and compliant too.”
Marline closed her eyes as she felt the tears welling up, “Always”. She rested her head on his shoulder.
They both became silent.
***
The three operating rooms were being used night and day over the next three weeks. The rate limiting step was the lack of qualified people to provide the InLife training and calibration.
***
Nifty woke up from a very deep sleep. At first he didn’t recognize where he was or this picture of radiance, this angel hovering at his bedside. The woman had grey white hair, cut short, but she was not old. Her smooth face was young, perhaps thirty-five and she clearly looked apprehensive, scared.
“Nifty, are you OK?”
“Marli, you’re gorgeous again.”
Marline wore a hospital gown with very short sleeves. She blushed. She blushed so strongly that her chest and arms turned red. Nifty looked at her upper arms and saw that her skin was no longer limp, but looked like a teenager’s. Her face, it was no longer lined and drawn, like her old smoker’s face, but was smooth and full. Thinking of her lips… He stared at her full lips. Her lips were slightly open in that way he always thought was so sexy. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, to breathe her scent. He felt his penis growing.
“Oh baby, you’re beautiful. We need to get out of here.”
Marline giggled and blushed more. She nodded eagerly.
In a huskier voice than she meant, she said, “I need you too. But we have to get you seen by the doctor first.”
Nifty could hear her need.
The doctor quickly arrived, He check Nifty’s vital signs, his reflexes and drew some blood. He then said, “I brought you some broth and other light foods. For both of you. However, you’ve been through a lot. I’m going to tell the nurses not to bother you Mister and Misses Corrigan. I’m prescribing some sleep and food for the two of you.” He quickly left, closing the door behind himself to the suite they shared.
After the doctor left, Nifty realized that his erection had never gone away. It was very apparent from the flimsy hospital gown. He didn’t care. He unsteadily got to his feet then picked up a chair and wedged it under the handle of the door, which would prevent anyone from entering.
After he turned around from the door, he saw Marline in the nude, her gown by her feet, her arms outstretched for him. She was the epitome of femininity, a Venus from the giant clam shell, a work of art. Her breasts and stomach were firm, her figure exquisite. Her body could pass for a college girl’s.
She touched his shoulders and he could feel her trembling. He was trembling also. ‘Shit, I haven’t felt this way since I was 15’, he thought. As he kissed her, her breath tasted of butter, of soul-nurturing honey. Her taste was like nothing he had ever sipped. With every exhalation, he inhaled to taste its rapture, its sweetness. He deliberately stopped breathing to wait for her to exhale again. She exhaled; he kissed her, and inhaled. Her hands had already had untied the bows holding his hospital gown. He shrugged the gown off. Due to his distraction, breathing, holding, trying to get the gown off, while touching her warm body, he lost his balance and they both fell to the floor.
She gasped, knowing the frailty of his bones, “Nifty, are you alright?”
His mouth quickly found hers again. He quietly picked her up into his arms and put her into the bed. She gasped, “You never were able to pick me up. Never.”
Hotly he said, “You felt like a flower. But enough talking.”
She giggled as he drew the drapes around the bed.
***
A private moving firm closed the Corrigan’s home and put their stuff into long-term storage. Marline and Nifty called and e-mailed a number of their friends and told them they were going away for health reasons, perhaps for good.
The last three weeks on Earth were spent in Holiday. They went to Southern France and spent it by the water. Marline had a beautician dye her white hair the same color as her quarter inch golden roots.
***
Marline woke Nifty up with a kiss on his chest. “Gotta get up, sleepyhead, we got homework from the boss.”
Nifty grabbed her head and brought it to his lips. They stayed locked in an embrace for the next fifteen minutes.
Marline finally said, “Fight training today.”
They left the spa by a taxi. With the help of their InLife computer, they gave the driver directions in Farsi for the new Air Park. They paid the park’s admission fee and, as directed, went to the security office and knocked.
“My name is Nathan Corrigan. You should be expecting us.”
The head of security looked them over and confirmed that they matched the photographs he received that morning. He gave them a security flight suit and goggles, but without helmets or computers. They left.
A tutorial followed outside in the park for the next hour. They each flew slowly and tried various maneuvers.
Nifty descended to Marline, who was standing by a small clearing of a garden with an ornate fountain and cherub. Marline was flushed with excitement. “You never, EVER, said that being weightlessness and flying was SO MUCH FUN.”
“It never was. I always had to kick off from somewhere to move, making sure it wasn’t near a set of buttons or switches. Stopping was even more nerve wracking. We were weightless, but still had mass. No, this is being weightless and fun. What I did was more like swimming in a VW minibus wearing a suit of medieval armor.”
“You mean this is all new to you?”
“Yeah.”
Marline had a mischievous look in her eye, “OK then, Catch me.” She pushed him backwards, and then shot up into the air.
Marline had a two-second head start before Nifty could position himself to kick off after her. Although he had far greater experience with weightlessness, she had the same hour training in anti-gravity flying as he did. Plus, being much lighter, she had far less momentum and could change direction faster. After a fifteen minute chase, she let him catch her.
They went up and flew level at 170 mph, while kissing, then Nifty had them fly up at 45 degrees, made a half roll and flew in a downward loop until they were flying in the reverse direction at a 45-degree angle upward. They half rolled and again dove downward in another loop to level off. This maneuver was called the Cuban 8. If they heard the security guard saying “Crazy American kids”, Nifty and Marline had no reactions, still lost in their kiss.
***
Most of Nifty’s original training had been changed by NASA in the last 40 years. Then it had been radically changed again with the invention of the anti-gravity space rocket, with its reversed ride. There was no bone-jarring take-off at three gee. The rockets came on only in the micro gravity of outer space.
They were all in space, well above earth orbit and traveling away from the sun.
However, the safety drills and lectures about the vacuum of space will be eternal.
Nifty practiced on Marline and the Coombs. He was getting used to talking sub-vocally and letting them feel the muscles in his body. The experience of using the feedback from their muscles made their training proceed at an astonishing rate.
He hadn’t thought of it before, but no one, not a single person, got space sick. Fully two thirds of the NASA astronauts had gotten space sickness on their initial flight. Even now. Many had a bag attached to their mouth at one end and a vacuum cleaner on the other. Come to think of it, he wasn’t feeling queasy either. He had been queasy for the first three days, way back when.
Nifty was able to train these three, they in turn trained another three, and those nine trained others until the entire trip had mastered each exercise. Nifty had ‘slipped’ into each trainee’s muscles making sure that they were doing it right.
For safety reasons, the first training was on how to check and enter their space suits, and how to verify that their partner had done it correctly. Basic maneuvers in weightless was next. Gravity reflection wouldn’t work where they were going. The identification of different types of rocks, their spectral identification, their density, sensitivity to cracking under any type of strain was done by Alphonse Carusso. All of the space ‘cadets’ were expected to take extensive tests following each lesson segment. Each cadet was then permitted to review all blunders with their computer and take the exam again until they achieved a near perfect score.