RESTORATION (a science fiction novel) (RESTORATION (the science fiction trilogy)) (16 page)

“Okay, well I guess we’re good to go, what do you think we should do next?”
         “Well, my friend, what did we always do when we couldn’t find dirt on anyone during the hiring process?  What was the last thing we always checked?”  They pointed at each other and at the same time said, “Medical records.” 

All good investigators knew that medical records were very accurate and also very revealing.  If you wanted to get into a person’s deepest darkest secrets, just go look at their medical files.  This was no problem at all for John so they dug right in and started back at Ron Simpson again to see what they could find. 

There were several data warehouses that kept records much like different credit agencies keep duplicate records.  They divided them up and started looking at Mr. Simpsons past.  Everything looked normal.  All the records documented the usual childhood illnesses, dental records, inoculations for measles, chicken pocks, polio, aids, leukemia, etc.  It wasn’t until John, who had a habit of talking out loud while sifting through data, was mumbling about the parents driving so far to see a doctor.       “Wait John, what did you say about traveling to see their doctor?”
         “Well, it appears that Ron’s parents at one time lived in Ohio and then when they moved to Indiana.  They continued to see their old doctor in Ohio for little Ron’s shots and checkups.” 

Dodge went back to a similar file.
         “No that’s not what this file that I’m looking at says.  It shows that he got all his inoculations right here in good old Indiana.”

  John was in disbelief.      

“Let me see what you’re looking at.” 

They both looked at it several times and came to the same inexplicable conclusion.  Ron Simpson received double inoculations both in Ohio and Indiana, but why? 

Why would one kid need double treatment for the same things from two different doctors?  It just didn’t make any sense.  There was either a mistake or they were simply viewing an error in the system, there must have been another Ron Simpson that lived in Ohio and the records had gotten mixed up. 

They continued their digging to see what else they could find.  Still it didn’t make sense because the two different files showed the same parents listed with the same social security numbers and the same addresses for the family. They first showed up in Ohio and then in Indiana where they lived later but there were still records of treatment for Ron after that move yet they seemed like duplicate treatments. 

They could both understand going back to your old doctor but why would you get double treatment for the same things?  This didn’t make much sense at all. 

They decided the next logical step would be to call that doctor the following day and so they began to do a little research on his current practice to get his phone number or email address.

  His practice no longer existed so they looked up the old address and discovered there was a general practitioner there at that address but not by the same name.       

“Hey you don’t think he’s dead do you?
said John.  Ron was a kid many years ago and maybe the old doctor is just deceased.” 

“Yeah, good point,” said Dodge, let’s look him up.” 

A few minutes later they had their answer.  The kind old doctor was dead but not from old age, instead from something that sent chills up their spines.  Hit by a train!  The newspaper story from an Ohio news organization showed images of the fiery crash. 

The scene and description of the events were so eerily similar to the death of Ron Simpson that it couldn’t be a coincidence, no way, not in a thousand years.  Ron Simpson and his childhood physician had died in exactly the same way.  They were both in a stalled car on a railroad crossing late at night.  In both cases the driver was apparently unconscious and unable to move the vehicle or get out.  In each incident the rail crossing was following a blind turn in the tracks, where trains regularly travel at a high rate of speed. 

Why?  What was the connection between Ron Simpson, His child hood doctor, and their project?  Why would someone kill both men in the exact same way?  Why was Ron Simpson receiving double inoculations for childhood diseases?  It would have to wait until another day, it was late and both John and Dodge were exhausted. 

John walked out to the car with Dodge.     

“Have a good night buddy, and don’t worry, we’ll solve this, just don’t go anywhere near a rail road crossing tonight!”
         “Don’t worry Bro, I’m going straight home, locking the doors and staying put with my family, this stuff is freaking me out!”

Chapter
9
      Dodge arrived home at 9:55 p.m.; pulled his GTO right into the garage and locked everything up.  His family reacted in the usual way to his coming in and didn’t really notice him being a little more vigilant about checking the doors.  He was still a little on edge from all of the mystery surrounding Ron Simpson and his mind continued to race.

He was having thoughts now that maybe he and John were going completely off the deep end, losing it, and acting like a couple of paranoid teenagers after doing something bad when they knew better.  Was it possible that Ron and his Doctor had simply died coincidentally in very similar fashion?  Maybe he and John just stumbled upon a unique situation.  He certainly hoped that was the case and he tried to calm himself.

He grabbed a soda out of the fridge and an open pack of crackers from the kitchen counter and headed for his chair in the family room.  The whole family was watching some hilarious blooper real about dogs and cats doing funny things.  He was glad to see them all smiling and laughing and it melted away some of the tension.

“Well hello there stranger, glad you could make it home to see your family!” said Linsey.  He smiled and sat down on the sofa with her instead of sitting in his big chair as usual.  Linsey always liked that and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before going back to laughing at the show. 

“So did you have a good time catching up, you and John?” asked Linsey.
         “Yeah it was good, we talked about the good old days and had some fun remembering over a coffee and some scones.  Not too healthy, but it sure was tasty.” 

He hated lying to Linsey even about little things, but it was for her own good at this point. 

It was bad enough that she had just gone through Bobby’s death and Restoration she certainly didn’t need any extra stuff to deal with and as of now it was still just speculation, there was no immediate reason to believe they were in any danger.

The funny animals show ended and the local news came on.  The kids lost interest and went to the game room to play some video games leaving Linsey and Dodge to watch their “super boring news stuff” as Sarah put it.  The first story was the “breaking news story” and of course as they always are, it was bad news.  Apparently a man had lost his mind after finding out his wife was cheating on him.  He killed his wife and two of their three children and then turned the gun on himself.  “
What horrible news, wasn’t there anything good going on in the world anymore?”

Luckily the in-laws came over at the wife’s earlier bequest due to the argument and found the murdered family within a few minutes of it happening.  All the children were successfully restored but the crazed man shot his own Lifecorder unit and his wife’s unit before killing her and himself. 

They had no back up subscription plan so they couldn’t be restored.  They were gone, dead forever, or as some people believed, gone on to eternity.  Dodge thought to himself that the murderous man was probably not in a very good place right now and would probably like a do-over for that one. 

The following stories were the normal stuff; there was a drug bust, and a group of people at the town hall upset over a new liquor that was license granted to an eatery in their neighborhood. 

Then near the end of the newscast there it was, the story that brought Dodge out of the sleep that he was drifting toward.  A very wealthy business man in Arizona claimed that he had been robbed in the most unusual way. 

He claimed he went to bed on Monday night and awoke Tuesday morning to a very strange feeling, someone else in his head!  The entity in his head was controlling him but he was still himself.  He recognized his family and was able to act normal that morning at the breakfast table with his wife and children. 

He was forced to leave the house as if going off to his office at work but the other presence was there and he couldn’t do anything about it.  He claimed after leaving his home that the entity in his head coerced him into doing things against his will.  It ended up going to the bank and transferring his entire family fortune to an offshore bank account, an account that he somehow knew the numbers for.

The entity continued to control him all day until he went to bed that night.  He fought it but he eventually succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.  The following morning he awoke, sat straight up in bed.

“We’ve been robbed! Call the police!” he said.

His wife thought he dreamed this and he hoped that she was correct.  Upon calling the bank it was confirmed that he was in the day before and did in fact transfer the funds, and now they were nearly broke, two hundred fifty-six million dollars gone! 

Of course no one believed the man’s story including his wife who was certain he was giving it to a mistress and was planning to join her.  She left him taking the children and he went nuts. They locked him up in an institution and were still investigating to find out what was wrong with him and what really happened to the funds.  The bank account that the money was transferred to was closed out the very same day with no way to trace it. 

Linsey poked Dodge’s arm.     

“Hey there Hun, you all right?  Look like you just seen a ghost?” 

Dodge was glued to the story and must have turned a little pale at the thoughts going through his mind.  He had goose bumps at the very thought of this being somehow connected to their mystery.  Could it be that controlling people in this way was Ron Simpson’s motive for adding layers to the chip?  Or was Ron
Simpson just an innocent man who happened to be the last person to view the file?  Did someone watching murder him to keep it under wraps? 

Even if that was the case, why kill Ron’s childhood doctor?  Just then Dodge realized he had zoned out on Linsey.     

“Oh, no, sorry dear I just remembered I forgot to lock my office at work when I left, you know how I am about security.” 

Linsey patted his leg.      

“Well you were just in a hurry to meet your old pal and completely forgot about work I guess.  So how is Mr. John Calhoun these days?”

Dodge thought for a second, he was supposed to be catching up with John and now Linsey wanted the details. 

“Think fast and make it believable!”

“Well he’s been through a lot in the last few years.  Karen left him a while back and ran off with a professional baseball player.”  Linsey’s jaw dropped.     

“What!  Seriously?  I thought John and Karen were like the perfect couple, or at least they seemed to be?” 

“Yeah, I know, but apparently she had a secret, and well kept.  She just dropped the bomb on him and left.” 

“It’s no wonder he needed to see you, how’s he holding up?”
         “Well that happened over a year ago, he’s fine now, even has a new gal in his life.  We were talking about maybe getting together some night for dinner, all of us, so we can meet each other.  John says he’s happier now more than ever and that she’s just what he needed in his life.” 

“Well that’s good news and I’m glad he’s all right.  We should definitely have them over some evening or better yet go out so I don’t have to cook!” 

Linsey grinned at Dodge with that look she could always use to get her way, the one that he couldn’t resist.  Then she leaned over and kissed him with about as much tongue as lips. 
“Nice, that usually leads to more fun later.”

Dodge agreed that they would all go out and then Linsey got that wild look in her eye like he hadn’t seen in a couple of weeks. 
“Oh man!”
He never knew when this would happen with her or what would set it off but he wasn’t about to question it.  Linsey grabbed the remote and shut off the TV without taking her eyes off of Dodge.

“Hey kids, were going to bed, don’t stay up too late, okay?”  A stereo “Okay” came back from the next room.  Suddenly every other thought left his brain along with most of the blood as his mind turned to the fantastic sex they were about to have. 

Linsey had hold of his hands and was walking backwards toward the stairs leading him and looking directly into his eyes. 
“She sure looked good.”
  When they got to the bottom of the stairs she laughed as she spun around and bolted up ahead of him.  She was feeling frisky for sure.  Damn!  Even after all these years she could still rock his world! 

A few minutes later he found himself being worked over like no body’s business by the hottest woman he had ever known.  Not so much her looks, she WAS a looker for SURE, but it wasn’t that.  It was more about the animal that came out in her, she had a hunger that had to be satisfied and once she started she wasn’t going to stop.  He couldn’t even remember what he was concerned about earlier.  It was the furthest thing from his mind and it didn’t even matter.