NANOVISION: What Would You Do With X-ray Vision? (5 page)

Seeing his
movement, Judy rose from her chair. She began to stroke Daniel on the arm,
encouraging him to awaken.

“Daniel... hey,
Daniel. Can you hear me? My name’s Judy. I need you to wake up. Can you do that?
Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”

 Placing her hand
in the boy’s, Judy encouraged him again. “Squeeze my fingers.” He did, giving
her hand a good squeeze. Judy was elated. She then noticed his mouth twitching
and she was overcome with excitement.

“Don’t
talk−not yet,” she rambled. “There are tubes in your mouth−Oh, my
God. Oh, my God. What am I saying? How are you feeling? Shit, listen to me.
I’ve got to get a doctor. Don’t move, I’ll be right back.”

Judy flew out of
the room and headed to the nurses’ station. She notified the hospital staff of
Daniel’s awakening, initiating a flurry of activity.

 
*    *    *    *

The month that
followed Daniel’s awakening was probably the toughest month the boy had ever
endured. Aside from the physical injuries he suffered, he was now blind and his
mind a blank regarding the details of the accident. He couldn’t remember
anything−the explosion, the hit on his father, or even the torture he
endured under Mickey, ‘the Spoon’. It was as if everything regarding that day
had been erased. And it was something the psychiatrists attending him were not
surprised by. They told Judy that it was not unusual for the mind to blank out
horrific events, that perhaps, one day Daniel would remember, but until then
his life regarding that day was gone.

Still, this did
not keep Daniel from mourning. Though he couldn’t remember how or why, his
father was still dead and he was alone, truly alone. There was no one else in
his life, no relatives or anyone that could help out−he couldn’t even
call his friend Zac to tell him he was alive. Under the weight of all of this
Daniel fell into a state of depression, causing Judy to become even more
protective of the boy. She spent countless hours with him trying to raise his
spirits and guide his course.

Over time the two
became close and Judy felt a bond with Daniel−almost a motherly affection
toward him. At times she was conflicted by the relationship, burdened by the
fact that she had no real say in his life. He was a minor soon to be placed in
protective custody−a place where strangers would be in charge. The
prospect of that made her angry. She felt responsible−that leaving him in
the hands of someone new was akin to desertion. Realistically, there was no
other choice. She was not his mother, nor anything else but a friend or mentor.
Daniel would be sent away in an effort to keep him safe. His life would not be
his until he turned eighteen, and with his disabilities, probably not even
then. Life in this case was certainly not fair, it downright sucked.

Another three
months passed and Daniel continued to improve, at least physically. Every day
he underwent physical therapy and there was hope that in the near future, he
would be strong enough for plastic surgery, perhaps even before he was
discharged. Daily, Judy and her team searched for a new home for Daniel,
researching and interviewing candidate families. They had to find a place that
would fit Daniel’s special needs. Judy was insistent that somewhere out there,
a family was waiting just for him. If she only knew how prophetic those words
would become.

 
*    *    *    *

It was late
November and nearing the time for Daniel’s relocation. Three families had been
tentatively selected, but final arrangements had not been made as Daniel had
yet to meet them. Still, Judy’s team was hopeful that he could be placed before
Christmas. It would be the ideal present, a permanent safe residence for their
lost and lonely child. And that’s when the first miracle occurred.

It was around ten
in the evening at the medical center. Daniel was asleep in his hospital bed
with Judy sitting alongside him in a chair reading. It was her watch with three
more hours to go. Unexpectedly, there was a light rap on the door, followed by
Mimi popping her head in. She saw the boy was sleeping so she motioned for Judy
to meet her in the hallway.

“What are you
doing here?” asked Judy, outside in the hall. “You’re not supposed to be here
until tomorrow.”

“I couldn’t
wait,” answered Mimi. She was bursting at the seams.

“What is it?”
inquired Judy, noting Mimi’s unusual behavior. “Look at you−what’s up?”

“I found someone
we can place Daniel with.”

“What?” responded
Judy. “We already have...”

“No!” exclaimed
Mimi. “I mean I really found someone−a relative−an aunt who lives
in Santa Clara just outside San Jose.”

“An aunt? He has
an aunt? Wait−you know we can’t place him with a relative. His identity
could be compromised.”

“Judy, this is
different−way different. No one knows about this. See, Daniel’s mother
was killed in a car accident when he was just nine months old. Steven Raye and
Helen Ross, Daniel’s mother were never married−she kept her maiden name.
It took me forever, but I ran a check on Helen Ross and I found a birth
certificate from New York State. That led me to her parents and the fact that
she had a sister who later married under the name of Santini. Judy, Steven Raye
was a drifter. He moved Daniel around the country for years, before settling
down in Las Vegas when the boy was ten. Nobody knows Daniel’s history or where
he even came from.”

Judy was
unsure−she hesitated. Mimi provided her rationale.

“Judy, listen to
me. This aunt is a ghost. And I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts she doesn’t
even know that Daniel exists. It’s perfect. And besides that, she’s a doctor.
She does medical research for some company called NanoBytes up in Santa Clara.
What more could we ask for?”

“I don’t know...”

Mimi got serious.
“Listen Judy, I think we need to ask Daniel. He should have a say in this.”

Judy’s head was
spinning. The thought of Daniel having family was totally unexpected.

“What’s her name?” she asked.

“Ethyl Santini.”

Judy reflected
for a moment.

“Okay,” she
finally responded. “It’s a possibility. But I don’t want to tell Daniel, not
just yet. Let me check her out first. Book me a flight to San Jose. I’ll
interview her and see if she’s a good candidate. Hell, she may not want to be
involved and I’d hate to say something too soon.”

“Good point,”
countered Mimi.

“Okay, I’m going
to finish out my shift here. Can you do me a favor? Call the local office and
have them send over a couple of agents. I want someone with this kid around the
clock while I’m gone.”

Chapter 3

Two days after
Mimi’s news at the hospital, Judy was on a plane to San Jose. She picked up a
rental car and checked into her motel, and the following morning drove to the
NanoBytes Research Institute to meet with Dr. Ethyl Santini. The drive to the
company’s headquarters in Santa Clara was relatively short, but it afforded
Judy a chance to size up the area. The city of Santa Clara was clean and
upscale−definitely a hub for the tech industry. Driving with the windows
open, Judy relished the cool breeze coming off the bay and the scent of grass
and semi-tropical flowers that filled the air. This place was quite a change
from the dry and dusty desert of Las Vegas and she thought Daniel might do well
here, if things worked out.

Arriving at
NanoBytes, Judy checked in with security, where she was given a visitor’s pass
and directions for the visitor’s parking lot. Five minutes later she was
standing next to her car taking in the corporate offices of NanoBytes, a four
story ‘green’ circular building constructed of solar panel glass and steel. To
Judy, the place seemed befitting of all she had heard about Silicon Valley. The
place was big, sleek, and very techie looking, including the company logo
N.R.I., which was plastered across the front in large bright silver letters.
This
is not a small time operation,
she thought as she made her way to the front
entrance.

The interior
lobby of N.R.I. did not disappoint. The place was definitely upscale corporate
with a spacious, open atrium, beautifully decorated with water fountains and
fauna. Judy made her way to the reception desk and introduced herself, showing
her ID badge to the security guard, who noted her name in the registry, then
placed a call.

“I’ve notified
Dr. Santini’s secretary of your arrival,” he said, hanging up the phone. “If
you’d like to have a seat over there Dr. Santini will be right down.”

Judy turned to
where the guard was pointing, an area with several couches and a coffee table
hidden amongst a grouping of trees and potted plants.

“We also have
refreshments... coffee, juice, donuts or fruit. They’re on the table behind the
black couch.”

“Thank you...”
responded Judy, “... coffee would be nice.”

She made her way
to the refreshment buffet table and grabbed a cup of black coffee, then took a
seat. A moment later she heard the ping of an elevator. Looking up, she saw a
woman exiting and walking in her direction. She set her cup down on the coffee
table.

Doctor Ethyl
Santini was a tall, slender woman with silver-grey hair, approximately sixty
years of age. Judy noted her approach−the confident walk as she strolled
across the atrium. The woman had the definite look of a company CEO. She
reminded Judy of a professor she had in college, but with more flair. She was
impeccably dressed in a dark pin-striped dress suit, tailored to her figure,
with an aqua-blue blouse and matching shoes. A beautiful white pearl necklace
hung gracefully around her neck. Judy stood as Ethyl approached.

“I’m Doctor
Santini,” announced Ethyl, giving Judy a warm smile. “I hope you weren’t
waiting too long?

“No, I’ve only
been here a moment,” answered Judy, presenting her ID. “Thank you for seeing
me.”

Ethyl perused
Judy’s badge, exclaiming her amazement. “I must admit, I was quite surprised
when I got your call two days ago,” she noted. “I’ve never had an official
visit from the FBI. I hope it’s nothing serious?”

“Actually, my
visit here is in regards to a personal matter. Is there somewhere where we can
talk privately?”

“Certainly, my
office is upstairs. Please... follow me.”

Crossing the
atrium, Ethyl took Judy to the elevators.

“So what exactly
do you do here?” asked Judy.

“Well, as you
might have surmised from our name, NanoBytes is in the business of research and
development with nano technology. We’re trying to find new cures for the human
condition. Specifically we’re developing ways to combine nanites...
micro-computerized machines, with DNA, T-cells, and biotics... in fact,
Nanobiotics is one of our coin phrases.”

“That’s fascinating,”
Judy remarked.

“Would you be
interested in a quick tour?”

“Absolutely,”
responded Judy, eagerly. “I must admit I’ve never been in a real research lab,
well, except the ones at the FBI and that’s mostly for crime analysis.”

“I’m sure there
are many similarities, but our emphasis here is on making a better world.”

Ethyl hit the
elevator button for the second floor and took Judy upstairs, then down a long
hallway.

 “Is this your
first trip to Silicon Valley?” she asked, making small talk.

“Yes,” answered
Judy. “I’m actually based in Las Vegas.”

“Oh, now that’s
got to be an exciting place to live.”

“Certainly
hotter,” remarked Judy.

The two women
approached a bright red door. On it were large raised letters that
read−LAB ONE, and beneath that a smaller sign, computer generated that
read: ‘
Beware to all who enter!’
.

Ethyl pointed it
out with a chuckle.

“We like to keep
things light here,” she said. “We get a lot of school children coming through
our facility and we like to keep things mysterious and exciting. We’re hoping
to pique their interest in science and technology and maybe get a scientist or
two out of the batch.”

“Not a bad idea,”
admitted Judy.

Ethyl opened the
door to Lab One, revealing a large dressing room filled with lockers, benches,
and hooks for hanging coats. On the far side of the room was another door,
bright blue, with a sign that read: ‘
You can’t turn back now!’.

“Oh, I’m getting
chills already,” laughed Judy, giving a mock shiver.

“It gets better,”
said Ethyl.

She crossed to
one of the cabinets and opened it. Inside was a stack of hermetically sealed,
plastic bags. Taking two from the stack, Ethyl handed one to Judy. “You’re
about to enter the mad laboratory of Dr. Santini,” Ethyl joked, “but seriously,
it’s a sterile environment so we’ll need to dress in these. You can leave your
purse in the cabinet.”

The two women
dressed and were soon covered head to toe in sterile gowns, hair nets, facial
masks, gloves and shoe covers. They entered the lab.

*    *    *    *

Lab One was a
huge spacious facility that seemed, by first appearance, to run the entire
perimeter of NanoBytes. The lab faced the curved outer wall of the building,
and was brightly lit with an extended panoramic view as all the windows
overlooked the Santa Clara Valley, giving it an open, airy feel. To her
immediate left, Judy noted a sign that read: Animal Hospital. And to her right,
the direction in which Ethyl took her, was a huge kennel a good hundred feet in
length, with various sized Plexiglas cages stacked three to four high. The
place was like a mini zoo; with groupings of cats, dogs, birds, rats, hamsters,
snakes, raccoons, and one lone goat filling the cages. Pleasantly, there was no
odor, which was surprising for an animal facility this large. But that wasn’t
what drew Judy’s immediate concern. She noticed, as she passed each cage, that
all the animals were either injured, sick, bandaged, or sedated and she
wondered why. She soon learned the answer as Ethyl explained the lab’s
workings.

“This is our
animal bay,” noted the CEO with a wave of her hand. “It’s in this area that we
house a wide variety of animals for our medical research. We use these animals
to extract DNA samples for analysis. Then, splicing their stem cells and combining
them with nanites we are able to create medicines that will rebuild tissue,
conquer diseases like cancer, eliminate infection, and possibly−though
we’re not there yet, rebuild entire genetic sub-structures.”

“So why are all
these animals injured?” asked Judy, “Was it done solely for product testing?”

Judy’s
observation stopped Ethyl in her tracks.

“No, no, heavens
no!” exclaimed Ethyl in disbelief. “All the animals you see here were injured
or sick long before arriving here. We have an arrangement with the humane
society and veterinarians in the area to provide us with animals that need
help. Every animal you see here was either sick, hurt, or abused, then
abandoned or dropped off at the pound by their owners−most were ready to
be put down. We rescued them. Here at NanoBytes we are about extending and
improving the quality of life, so we provide them with sanctuary. This is a
place where these animals can receive the attention they need along with the
medical expertise necessary to cure them. From this relationship we are able to
create drugs and medicines that can heal without invasive procedures. Here, let
me show you.”

Ethyl took Judy
to the cages near the end of the kennel. She stopped and pointed to one. Inside
was a small kitten about four months old, sound asleep, with all four of its
legs bandaged. Ethyl’s anger was evident as she related the story about the
kitten to Judy.

“Some heartless,
sick, son-of-a-bitch, if you’ll excuse my French, decided to torture this poor
creature by cutting its legs off with pruning shears. It was left to die in a
garbage can. Can you imagine? Someone found it and brought it to one of our
vets, who stabilized its condition then brought it here where we immediately
began nanite infusion−the only option available if this kitten was ever
going to walk again.”

There was an
extreme look of pride in Ethyl’s eyes as she explained what they did next.

“We extracted the
kitten’s DNA and broke down the various genomes that relate to the growth of
its extremities. Then, using coded stem cells fused with nanites and lizard
DNA, which has the ability to rejuvenate cells, we began a series of injections
and already we’re seeing results. It’s only been two weeks but each leg has
grown a full quarter inch in size with no deformities or cellular degeneration.
We’re very excited and hopeful that this little thing will regain the full use
of all four legs.”

Judy was stunned.
“That’s absolutely incredible.”

Ethyl nodded in
agreement. She pointed to another cage.

“And you see that
puppy over there. He had cancer and our nanites took it out. He’s been cancer
free for over a month now. Pretty soon he’ll be ready to be fostered. Perhaps
to one of the children who come on tour.”

Ethyl gave Judy a
sly look.

“That’s another
reason we allow children to come to our facility... but that’s a trade secret,
okay?”

Judy nodded her
head. “Your work here is incredible. And you do all of this without invasive
animal testing−that’s quite admirable.”

Ethyl laughed.
“Yes, that’s been a constant source of irritation with my
‘VC’
backers...”

Not understanding
the ‘VC’ reference, Judy gave Ethyl a quizzical look.

“... sorry,
Venture
Capitalists
,” apologized the CEO, “but I told them if they wanted to invest
in my company, that would be one of the terms and we’ve stuck to our guns.
We’re not going to harm some helpless creature just to see if we can cure it.
We don’t have to.”

The rest of the
NanoBytes’ tour took about forty-five minutes and Judy was more than impressed
by what she observed. Ethyl took her through their clinical data center and the
genomics satellite laboratories where the DNA identification, sequencing,
extraction and splicing took place. She saw labs filled with complex chemical
analysis and imaging equipment, the company’s quality assurance and quarantine
facilities, and the fulfillment center for future pharmaceutical manufacturing
and more−much of which she did not fully comprehend. Additionally, she
learned that NanoBytes employed over two dozen scientists and researchers,
along with several veterinary and medical doctors, and a support staff of twenty
that oversaw the everyday functioning of the company.

At the end of the
tour, Ethyl walked Judy to her office on the fourth floor. As Judy suspected,
it was a beautiful suite furnished with plush furniture, drapes and artwork,
including a large mahogany desk from which Ethyl presently sat facing Judy.

“So, Miss
Salinski, what can I do for the FBI?” asked the NanoBytes’ CEO. “I can’t
imagine you’re really all that interested in the inner workings of my little
company. Most of what we do here is already on the Internet. Would you like to
tell me what this is all about?”

Judy nodded
politely, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap.

“I’ll get right
to the point, Doctor. What can you tell me about your sister, Helen?”

Ethyl was
momentarily stunned. She stared at Judy, not quite sure how to respond.

“Helen? Uhh...
I’m sorry... I uhh, haven’t thought about her in quite a while. It’s been so
long. You do know she’s dead?”