From: megazone@obsidian.WPI.EDU (MegaZone23)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime,alt.prose,wpi.students.story
Subject: OIC (11)
Date: 10 Sep 1992 14:35:13 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: obsidian.wpi.edu

-------------------------------------------------------ELEVEN

     "Just think what we could accomplish without all the
idiots of the world to slow us down!"
                         --Ralken Abegius

     "Greetings.  Lord Fahrvergnugen told me that I may be of
some assistance.  I understand that you have an injured
companion.  Please allow me to examine him," Edison greeted
the incoming personnel.
     "If there is anything you can do to help, we would
greatly appreciate it," Jenna replied.
     "Just revive the asshole so I can kill him," Gryph
snarled.
     Kei rested her hand on Ben's arm.  "Please forgive him,
he's been a little stressed by all of this."
     "I understand.  No offense taken," Edison replied.
     "Can you save him?" Yuri asked timidly.
     "I can only try, milady," Edison replied, bowing.
"However, the odds are rather good.  Do not fret."
     Yuri tried to smile but she was obviously unsure about
trusting this stranger.  She replied quietly, "Thank you."
     "Well, I must began my work immediately.  No sense in
delaying any longer.  Lord Fahrvergnugen, if I may have my
leave?"
     "Certainly.  I know you will do your best.  Good luck."
     Edison nodded to Wolfgang and strode off down the
hallway in the direction Zoner had been taken.
     "Come.  Let us relax in the lounge.  There is no need to
worry.  Edison is an old friend of mine.  He has technology
and skills that even I fail to understand.  If anyone can
save Zoner, it is he."  Wolfgang swept his arm in an arc in a
gesture for those assembled to lead the way.

     Edison began examining Zoner with various and sundry
devices.  His instruments registered some low level brain
activity, not much more than some electrochemical residue,
but it was there.  Good.  He wouldn't have to attempt to
totally reconstruct the neural network.   That was always a
pain in the ass.  Anyway, he was definitely dead.  Hmmm.
There was a small amount of damaged cerebral tissue.  Could
mean some memory loss.  Well, I'll do what I can later.  The
organs were pretty much okay, the brain just stopped running
them.  Hmmm.  But the life support system should have been
able to support them.  Aha, the nervous system had been
sending out scrambled signals.  Well, that could be solved.
     Edison fitted Zoner with a collar.  Dozens of small
needle-like electrodes extended from the collar into Zoner's
neck.  Some of them electronically jammed any signals the
spinal column might generate as he continued his work.  The
others began emitting the correct signals to control the
organs.  He then strapped a metallic belt across Zoner's
chest and entered a few numbers on the touch pad on the front
of the belt.  It began emitting electrical pulses into
Zoner's body.  Edison watched as the display began to show an
irregular heartbeat.  He entered a few more figures and the
heartbeat began to stabilize.  Once that was accomplished he
turned on the rest of the circuits and restarted Zoner's
lungs.  Once he was satisfied that the body could maintain
steady life support, albeit with electronic assistance, he
turned the chill down unit to the defrost setting.  Now, for
the interesting part.
     He fitted yet another band on Zoner.  This one was
around his head.  The headband began emitting low level
signals to the brain to stimulate activity.  Edison watch the
display with some consternation; Zoner wasn't responding as
he expected.

     Zoner walked through the garden with Death discussing
the life and times of the universe.  She had a great sense of
humor and Zoner was enjoying himself immensely.  She told him
about her "family" and how they all played their roles.
Zoner discussed philosophies, beliefs, and religions with
her.  She had some very interesting views, well, she had been
around forever so she certainly had time to form them.  Zoner
admired her, she was so carefree for someone in her position.
The garden was so beautiful, he wished he could stay there
forever, but he knew that was impossible.
     Suddenly Zoner doubled over in pain, holding his head.
"ARGH!!  What is that?!  Fuck this hurts!"
     Death wrapped her arms around him in a comforting
manner. "Do not worry.  It's your body, they're not giving up
on you yet."
     "But... I thought I was dead?"
     "You are, but there are those who try and avoid me.
This may not be your time.  Not just yet.  Only Destiny knows
for sure."
     "But then why are you here?"
     "I know all about you, all about your fascination with
me.  And you are dead at the moment."
     "So what's going on?  What was that pain all about?"
     "Well, they're dragging you away from me.  You might say
it's the pain of birth."
     "The pain of birth?  I don't remember anything like
this."
     "Of course not, you were far too young.  The pain was
great enough for your mind to erase its memory.  Not many
people get to remember it."
     "So, will I remember any of this?"
     "Well, in your subconscious, your emotions, and in your
dreams I will always be there.  However, your conscious mind
will try to forget what you have seen."
     "Too bad, I really enjoyed meeting you.  It must not be
too often that a mort takes the time to talk with you.
Unless of course they're pleading for another chance.  How
much longer do I have here?"
     "Life is dynamic, only change is constant, you may yet
stay here.  But it appears that you will most likely return
to your friends soon."
     "But I will see you again, right?"
     "Of course, every living thing meets me eventually."
     "Soon?"
     "No, not for a very long time."
     "The pain seems to have dissipated."
     "Yes...for now.  Let's continue our walk.  You're pretty
interesting yourself."

     Edison decided that there was only one alternative left.
But Omega-2 was a major step; maybe he should talk to the
others first.  No, just go ahead and do it.  Well, maybe he
might anger Lord Fahrvergnugen.  Yes, better to talk to the
others.
     Edison strode into the lounge.  Before he could address
the others Yuri leapt up.
     "Did you save him?!"
     "I have revived the body, but the brain is a bit more
complicated.  He's not responding to treatment as I would
expect."
     "Damn bastard's even stubborn dead!" Gryphon snapped,
punching the wall.  Kei drew him closer.
     "But, there is one alternative left to me. It will
almost definitely work.  However, there are some major side
effects," Edison continued.
     "What kind of side effects?" Yuri asked concernedly.
     "Well, it gets a bit tangled.  Let me explain.  We have
time."
     "First off, what is this option anyway?" Kei asked.
     "Omega-2."
     "Omega-2?  What is that?"
     "A retro-virus."
     "I think you'd better start from the beginning," Jenna
 suggested.
     "Well, duh.  That's what I've been trying to do.  If
everyone would be so kind as to quiet down.  Thank you."
     Edison paused for a minute, seemingly to organize his
thoughts. Then he began to speak.
     "I am a Detian.  Simple fact.  We're a race of
dimensional travelers from Earth, in an alternate time--I
assume you're familiar with alternate time--where the Earth
was engulfed by nuclear war in the late 1980s.
     "The population was basically destroyed.  By a happy
coincidence, one of the largest groups of survivors happened
to be a group of college students.  Among them was a
brilliant biotech engineering major by the name of Abegius--
Ralken Winthrop Abegius.  Abegius built a society from the
ashes, using the intellectual power of the surviving
community to create greatness within a few decades.
     "One of his first achievements was Omega-2.  Simply put,
because being a dimensional engineer I'm not too sharp on the
particulars myself, Omega-2 is a retroviral treatment that
re-encodes the subject's DNA.  Ralken liked to call it
`immunization against death'.  Everyone in the community of
survivors was effectively rendered immortal, under the
agreement that they would sign the Detian Constitution and
agree to abide by the laws."
     "'Scuse me...just how immortal are we talking here?"
Gryphon asked, his curiosity piqued.
     "Let me put it this way.  I'm one of the original
Detians.  The war happened in 1987.  I came here from the
year AD 14,375,512."
     "Gaaah?!"
     "That's what I said.  But that's another story entirely.
I'm almost certain Omega-2 can save your captain...but it's
not something I want to do to someone against his will.  One
tends to think that immortality blurs one's distinction
between life and death; not true.  There is a great deal of
pain involved in being deathless; I would not hand that to
someone unwilling.  So, unable to ask him, I'm asking you:
would he object?"
     Gryphon merely uttered a well-executed Drummeybird call.
     "Is...oh shit, how do I ask this...is there any way he
could die later, if he wanted to?" asked Kei.
     "Well..."  Edison considered.  "That's a tough one.  It
is doable, I suppose...atomization tends to work...cortex
bombs are fairly effective...nothing that isn't messy."
     "But it can be done."
     "You seem awfully...I dunno, keen on this subject..."
     "It has to be asked...it gives him an option out, if he
doesn't want immortality."
     "I see your point..."
     "fnord," said Gryphon, and left the room.  He had
something to do.
     "Where's he going?" Yuri asked, looking after him.
     "Probably to go somewhere and have an attack of the
willies in private."
     "Then...I take it it's agreed?  I'm to try whatever I
must?"
     "Yes," Yuri replied.  "At least to give me a chance to
say goodbye...if that's what he really wants."
     "I understand...I think..."  Edison turned and left the
room, slightly confused.  Ephemerals always tended to confuse
him; it had been so long since he had been one.

     Edison returned to Zoner.  He checked the indicators one
last time for any signs of change; there was none.  The body
was still running fine, but the higher functions of the brain
weren't responding to the stimulus.  He could never quite
understand the mind; by all rights the brain should have been
responding to his technology.  But it wasn't.  Odd.  Oh well,
not that it mattered much.
     Edison reached into his waistcoat and pulled out a small
black box.  He placed the box on the medical tray, released
the latch, and slowly opened it.  Inside were some of the
most highly illegal objects one could possess, according to
the Detian constitution: three bottles of Omega-2 and an
injector gun.  Edison carefully lifted the gun and one of the
bottles out of the case.  As he fitted the bottle into the
butt of the gun he pondered the meaning of what he was about
to do.  This little bottle held the power over life and
death.  It continued to amaze him.
     He snapped back to reality and dialed in a small dosage.
It didn't really matter, a couple units would do it.  The
only thing dosage affected was time of action.  He leaned
over Zoner and pressed the gun to his arm.   He muttered, "I
hope I don't regret this, friend," and pulled the trigger.
     It was done.  It would most likely take a couple of days
for the virus to propagate and begin repairing the damage.
All that was needed now was time.

     Zoner suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.
     "What's wrong?" Death asked.
     "I'm not sure.  I think something just happened to my
body.  I'm not sure exactly what.  It feels like something
alien entered me or something.  It's a strange feeling."
     Death looked almost saddened. "I think I may know what
it is, but it's nothing to worry about.  Go on with what you
were saying."
     Zoner had the feeling that it was definitely something
to worry about, judging from her reaction.  But he decided
not to press the point and he continued where he had left
off.

     Edison rejoined the others in the lounge.  They all
turned to him expectantly, but no one spoke.  Edison broke
the strained silence himself.
     "I did it.  Give the virus a couple of days to work
through his system.  After that we should start seeing
results."
     "Is it ok if we check in on him?" Jenna asked.
     "Certainly, but do not disturb any of the equipment I
have placed on him."
     "Of course.  And thank you."  With that Jenna left to
look in on Zoner.  She was also curious about the type of
equipment Edison used.  She felt a little jealous that he had
succeeded where she had failed.
     As Edison watched her depart he mumbled, "Don't thank me
yet."
     "What was that?" Yuri asked.
     "Oh, nothing."
     "So he'll be okay now?"
     "He should be.  But be prepared, not everyone adjusts to
immortality well."  Edison thought back to his own
experience.
     "Who wants to live forever?" Gryphon asked from the
doorway.
     "Ben!  How are you dealing?" Kei asked, concerned.
     "I'm alive."
     Kei seemed a little upset at Ben's terse reply, but she
understood.  It wasn't everyday a close friend became an
immortal.
     "So, Zoner's immortal now..." Yuri said, her voice
trailing off.  It sounded like a mixture of joy and sadness.
She stood and turned to leave the room.  "Thank you for
bringing him back, Mr. Bell."
     "Please, call me Edison.  Everything does."
     "Ok...thank you, Edison." And she left the room.
     "Well, there's not much else for me to do at the moment.
I believe I'll get some rest.  Good day."  Edison turned to
leave.
     "See you, and thanks," Kei called after him.
     "Yeah, thanks a lot," Gryphon added.
     Edison detected the slight bitterness in his voice and
understood.  He just hoped he wouldn't have reason to regret
his actions in the future.