April 6: And What Goes Around (33 page)

"I'll have a
basic proposal in a week," Mo promised. When Heather lifted a skeptical
eyebrow he explained. "I have an outline already and just need to add some
drawings and address some of the questions you raised."

"I'm curious,
how do the other moon bases handle waste? Do they recycle and if not how do
they dispose of it?" Heather asked.

"I have no
idea. But I'll inquire if you wish," Mo said.

"Yes, I wish.
Would you care for some dessert?" Heather offered.

"I thank you,
but not after the second helping," Mo said, putting a hand flat on his
stomach.

"Thank you
then. If you send me a message about this, title the message with 'Carbon' on
the header and I'll know what it's about."

It was an obvious dismissal. So Mo stood and said good bye quickly.

* * *

"The couple
in isolation seem likely to survive," Dr. Lee said. "I had my doubts,
but we treated them very aggressively. The man was much sicker than the woman.
We had them at a forty percent oxygen mix, chilled him down with the
appropriate drugs, gave him antibodies specific to the mouse flu and heavy
doses of prophylactic antibiotics. I believe the zero G environment helped as
we had him down to a heart rate and temperature I doubt he could have survived
in a full G clinic. We don't have to use pressure cuffs to promote circulation
and inhibit clotting in zero G. The lowered temperature itself  inhibits viral
reproduction."

"He'll make a
full recovery then?" Jon asked.

"By no
means," Lee said emphatically. "I can't really evaluate him yet, but
I doubt he will make a full recovery of gross strength and he may have damage
to his hearing and kidney function. I'll consider it a win if he doesn't have some
loss of cognitive ability. His wife is certainly better, and tests right now much
like someone who has had a minor stroke.

"This is a
terrible disease. The more so for gene-mod people. I think after a few months
of physical therapy he'll have recovered as much as possible. Both of them need
some rehabilitation, but I'm not sure we'll get the cooperation I'd like. They
are wealthy and used to giving orders not taking orders. They are technically
retired even aside from their wealth. They may just consider the lessons and
exercise too much trouble and decide to live with some impairment rather than
exert themselves."

"But the next
question after their plain survival is, do they have enough funds to retire on
Home?" Jon said. "Have they any idea who expensive it is here
compared to Earth? They may have much grander tastes than can be accommodated
here."

"That is
their concern. I have not demanded their true identity. I can hardly check
their credit."

"Being the
unprincipled brute I am, I had some Earth agents make inquiries," Jon
said.

"Yes?"
Lee seemed interested.

"I'm sure in
the short term my department won't have to fund their return ticket due to
their utter bankruptcy. Also you can be sure they are able to reimburse your
department for your considerable expenditures."

Lee said nothing. Hoping
Jon would reveal his patient's names, but he couldn't ask.

"Whether they
can integrate to Home society and be
happy
with what they can afford here
long term is another question, but I decided that is not my concern," Jon
said. "I'm very encouraged you could save them, Doc. You'll probably get
another opportunity."

"Just so I
don't get a hundred all at once. We have neither space nor supplies for that,"
Lee said.

"We have
boarding control now at ISSII and New Las Vegas. They are both happy to
restrict boarding as long as we are
paying
for it," Jon said.

"That's
excellent, but please, make sure the hired security has several people
available to test people at dock, or have a back-up company ready to take over,"
he told Jon.

"Why
Doc?"

"Because the
people doing your dock check may themselves get sick. And people tend to just
not show up without telling anyone if they are suddenly ill. Especially part
timers who aren't your own people and aren't deeply committed to your service."

Jon nodded, frowning at the problem. "Thanks, Doc. I'll add layers
to our arrangements today."

* * *

"Would you
mind some company?"

April tore her
gaze away from her pad and looked up to find Jelly, AKA Dr. Ames, standing
there cafeteria tray in hand.

"Of course
not! I'm always happy to have your company. In fact I have some questions for
you if you don't mind hearing them. I imagine you're busy. If you'd rather have
a break and not talk shop just tell me. I'll understand."

"No, I came
over because I have some news," Jelly said, "but tell me your story
first so I can just listen and stuff my face. I'm starved."

"That's a
deal. I have some messages from Heather at Central, we agreed a bit back to
seek to be independent at Central for food. We got the bug to do that before
the current flu epidemic on Earth. It seemed like a good idea when we saw the
French lunar colony planning to do that for themselves. We got a lot of seeds
and cuttings and the mining engineer Jeff hired for Central was tasked with
finding out how Earthies raise plants indoors and translating it to doing it in
lunar tunnels," April said.

Jelly nodded to
show he was listening but was eating not talking.

"Jeff is
looking into tank raised yeast. We've bought samples of food made from special
varieties they've brought to market in the last three or four years and it's
quite edible. You wouldn't know it is yeast based. I had fake cream cheese and
a dried grated cheese that passed for Romano very well. There was some stuff
you'd
swear
was peanut butter," April claimed, "and a variety
that produces gluten you can use to make low carbohydrate baked goods or fake
chicken that's pretty good in stir fry."

"I'm aware,"
Jelly said between bites. "It's all gene-mod and patented. You should be
able to buy licenses for it."

"We're
trying, but there may be delays with the way things are below. But I wondered
if you might be able to produce some mushrooms that would be more nutritious
and could be processed to substitute more for meat? I had some unfortunate
experience with how invasive mushrooms can be with my brother some years
ago."

Jelly was busy
chewing, but his raised eyebrow said loads.

"There might
be some... resistance among old timers who remember," April admitted.
"They took a long time to stop calling my brother Bob the 'Mushroom King'.
I mean, hey... he was only eleven years old! They acted like it was some kind
of bio-terrorism. And we did make out pretty well for awhile selling fresh
mushrooms. It did have the advantage of teaching people that the service
interval on air filters was set for actual reasons, not arbitrarily. I believe
they still find a colony now and then, if not on a filter on some null point in
the ducting where debris accumulates."

Jelly was making
enough progress he was slowing down and enjoying it a little. "Somebody
should write a paper on what sort of feral organisms have established themselves
in space habitats. I understand at one point the French had some air plants,
orchids technically, growing behind their duct vents. Odd things have shown up
here and there in with potted plants. I assume that is from inadequately
sterilized potting soil."

"I had a
little spider and his web in the corner of my view port," April admitted.

Jelly paused with
his toast half way to his mouth and looked alarmed. "That is disturbing.
One has to ask – On what was he
living
?"

April just
shrugged it off. "That's what Gunny asked right away. He's mainly
concerned we don't ever get mosquitoes. He seems to have developed a real
hatred of them from his military service."

"Indeed, they
are disgusting little disease carriers. If we found one, Dr. Lee and I would
both declare open warfare and eradicate them if we had to pump the whole damn
station down."

"Maybe
spiders would be good, to keep them in check?" April asked. "Just not
on my view port."

"All the
spiders in the world, as well as birds and bats and man-made machines that suck
the little devils in and drown them, haven't put a dent in the mosquito population,"
Jelly said.

"Oh. I
understand," April said surprised at his vehemence. "Better not to
let the little devils get a foothold then."

Jelly nodded
solemn agreement. He was past the halfway point eating and looked a lot
cheerier. "You realize if I develop organisms for you at my own expense
I'll retain rights and licensing them?"

"I was more
worried about eating well and regularly than the expense. It's costing us
plenty to lift our food right now and not getting any cheaper. Unless you
intend to gouge us horribly? You realize any patents you take out will be by
Earth law," April reminded him. We've been paying licensing fees for
things like the yeasts we want, because it is less trouble and it seems like
the right thing to do. But if anyone got really greedy that might end."

Ames ate a little
more thinking that over. It became apparent April wasn't going to say anything
more until he replied. He'd have been surprised to know she learned that trick
from him.

"You're
right," Ames decided. "I don't believe my fellow citizens would allow
me to do that. On Earth you might get away with it. Here, if they were forced
to pay a huge fee they might just pay me right back. I'd be shunned socially
and every time I went in to buy something or request a service I'd be quoted
double or triple prices. Everybody knows who you are and your business here,
despite the increase in population. So far no one has suggested my fees on
gene-mods are too high. But then I have no direct local competition. 

"I might
start thinking about
when
that will happen, and how I will respond. Just
because nobody has offered similar services doesn't mean it won't happen
eventually."

"We have a
number of ship builders. I own a little interest in a night club and another
one opened recently. We all seem pretty busy even with competition. I wouldn't
assume it will be terribly damaging to have another provider. You just might
have to offer something distinctive. Your mod to improve reflexes for example.
What are the chances another gene-mod doc will produce the exactly same
thing?" April asked.

"Maybe,"
Jelly said, still concerned. "But that idea makes diversifying into
modifying food plants or other non-human organisms more attractive. I need to
tell you... The reason I came to speak with you is I finally have that mod
available I told you about before. I have a mod that increases strength. It
isn't going to make you into a comic book hero, but it will make you anywhere
from half to three quarters stronger than your base level.

"I'd be
willing to trade you a treatment in exchange for some help getting specimens of
various plants and fungi shipped up. That side line business you are suggesting
sounds like a good idea. However, I've been having trouble getting my regular
supplies, so asking for exotics will be more difficult." He made a funny
face looking down at the table. Then seemed to decide something and looked back
up at her.

"I'm in a
similar situation to that which you described your brother suffering. My
colleagues below are aware of my relocation to Home. Although I have broken no
law they can name, there is extreme prejudice against anyone capable of genetic
modifications and once associated with veterinary medicine as I am. I find that
when ordering supplies they increasingly demand I
must
be associated
with some university or hospital even without any legal restrictions. I find it
a ridiculous argument that I might misuse their products.
Anyone
might
misuse their supplies. If they eliminate everyone who
could
do so they
will have
no
customers. But I could use some third party help obtaining
things to develop for you."

"I believe
Jeff has, uh, people. On Earth that is," April clarified. "The sort
who might obtain things for you. Some of the same sort of people who got the
flu sequences for Lee and you."

That got a
surprised look from Jelly.

"Security
guys tend to work for more than one party," April told him. "But he
has good connections among them besides a few of his own people. I'll ask him
if what you want can be had. If it can be done  I'll take that mod in trade,
but he may want a fee himself depending on how difficult it proves to be. What
do you want?" April asked.

"As many food
plants that haven't already had radical genetic mods done," Jelly said,
starting to count off the items on his fingers. "Some of your stock you
mentioned obtaining would serve as well as new from Earth. I don't need a
lot
.
North American law seems to have failed to show proper horror at modified corn
and wheat or golden rice. Their agriculture would fail without them so they
turn a blind eye. But there are still things like turnips and cabbage, beets
and carrots that have been bred to extremes but not actively gene modified.

"I'd also
like the common commercial mushrooms. From what you say I can just set out
growth media and get the common button mushroom,
Agaricus bisporus,
here
thanks to your brother.  But I'd like
Pleurotus Ostreatus
, oyster
mushrooms and other common varieties. They sell them for hobbyists so that
should be easy. I can give you a list of varieties that are edible but
commercially unimportant."

"Why do you
want those if they aren't good enough people want to buy them?" April
asked.

"
Schizophyllum
Commune
is an example. It's edible but only favored by small populations.
It tends to be tough and chewy. But it travels to market in the tropics better
than tender varieties that go bad quickly. If you want meat substitutes I
figure it's texture may be an advantage. It's one less characteristic I have to
modify or find some way to add in processing."