RESTORATION (a science fiction novel) (RESTORATION (the science fiction trilogy)) (21 page)

“Sure Dad, I might just take you up on that.  We may need some extra security around the house soon, you bought any more toys to add to your collection in recent years?”  Alan grinned.      “Oh yeah, I was up to 33 pieces last I counted and I have plenty of ammo too.  Ya know I don’t talk about things much, but I left all those guns to you in my will and I want you to do the same someday for Bobby.  Some of those pieces will be worth a small fortune some day and his son will be the fourth generation to have them, some pieces fifth because of those that my Father gave to me that had belonged to my Grandfather.”
         “That’s great Dad I’ll make sure of it, I promise.” 

As they continued talking, they noticed one by one the family was arriving in the kitchen.  They just sat there and continued to reminisce about some of the things that happened when Dodge was a boy and they talked about his Mother and how much they both missed her.  Soon breakfast was ready and Sarah called them in to eat. 

They all had a wonderful time around the table eating and talking about how awesome it would be for Grandpa after today and Bobby told Grandpa in detail what to expect the day’s right after his Restoration and of course the details of the pink stuff you had to eat all over again. 

The time had come to go to the Lifecenter.  They all piled into Linsey’s taxi, as she called it, because it had the most room.  They made sure they had Alan’s Lifecorder unit and they were on their way.

On the way Linsey announced to the family that she had bought them all a little gift.  She had been saving up for something special and hadn’t decided what it would be just yet.  Two days ago it hit her.  She decided exactly what to spend her little nest egg on.  It would be a gift that would last for a very long time and be money well spent.  She bought the entire family a life time membership to the Medic-Star Lifecorder database.  As soon as next week they would all be visiting the local branch to have their new LifeCorders with the uplink configured.  From then on their files would be backed up to the main database twice weekly. 

The new service would ensure that their files couldn’t be lost even if their Lifecorder units were destroyed and they were deceased at the same time.  Everyone agreed that this was a great choice and a very thoughtful way to spend her money that she had worked so hard to save up.

When they arrived at the Lifecenter Alan was admitted and the family was allowed to watch the procedure through a window that separated them from the procedure room.  The procedure was very safe and didn’t require any surgery so bacteria and germs were not an issue but the life centers had this separation just in case something went wrong.

In the event of a problem they could close the blinds on the window and spare the family seeing their loved one restrained and drugged.  Within a few minutes they rolled Alan into the room on a very comfortable looking bed.  They proceeded to strap him down to the bed but only gently and very loosely, it was merely a precaution and all part of the standard procedure.

He had on a blue terry cloth robe and was sitting up slightly looking very comfortable.  His Lifecorder unit was already in the room and they turned it up to view the id tag on the bottom.  They asked Alan to verify that it was in fact his unit.  He looked at the tag and agreed that it was his unit.  A technician with a sophisticated key device of some kind opened the unit and pulled out the memory bank and placed it into a control console next to the bed. 

Alan saw everyone through the window and waved and smiled.  He was ready to end his suffering and be healthy again.  The doctor came in and checked him out briefly, they had a short conversation followed by the nurse handing him a white pill and a small glass of water.  The pill was to put him to sleep while they brought the clone on line, uploaded his life file into the clone, and then wake it up.  This would be followed by a series of questions and a motor skills test.  If he passed both then he would be wheeled out to recovery for a visit with the family.  After one hour the family would be moved into another room and questioned to make sure the restored person was acting completely normal.  Once these steps were complete, the old body would be frozen and kept for up to 90 days.

It only took a few minutes for Alan to drift into a very deep sleep.  The doctor checked his vitals one more time and ran a simple pin prick test on the bottom of his foot to make sure he was completely out.  One of the nurses pressed a button on the wall and a curtain came down over the window.  A few minutes later the curtain went back up.  Alan was gone, they had rolled him out and then wheeled the bed containing his clone body in.  It was placed in the exact same position and it had on a blue robe just like Alan did before.  This switch was undoubtedly designed to prevent friends and family from seeing both bodies at the same time.  Seeing them together might frighten or confuse some people especially children.

The lights were dimmed and there was some very soothing music playing softly so that the awaking person would feel comfortable in a relaxed environment.  Everyone was amazed at how young Alan’s clone looked.  He chose to have the appearance of age fifty in order to avoid being a youth again.  It would have been too strange for him and the whole family if he were restored to a much younger age. 

The Lifecenter staff had already advised Alan that in spite of appearing to be age fifty he would be as healthy as an eighteen-year-old and that his joints and muscles would be like that of a youth because the clone body was only exercised very lightly by computer programs.  There was basically zero wear and zero injury, he should feel fantastic.  His clone was also much thinner in build.  This was normal and after first waking up the body would be somewhat weak but would build up very quickly as he became increasingly active and ate regular meals. 

A long, robotic needle was moved close to the clone’s right ear, the general area where the implant resides in the base of the brain.  The doctor loaded a program and hit the run button.  A small sterilization laser popped out of the robotic arm and zapped the full length of the needle as it entered the clone’s head directly behind the right ear lobe.  It stopped when it made contact with the chip at the base of his brain.  The doctor loaded and ran a test program on the clone that caused the fingers to move in sequence one through ten from left hand to right hand to establish that the clone’s nervous system was healthy and working. 

He ran a second sequence that caused the toes to wiggle one at a time and then the clone’s eyes blinked five times.  Another sequence caused the left arm to rise when the doctor shined a pocket light into the right eye of the clone and then the right arm to rise when the light was shown into the left eye.  The last program ran was the auditory test which caused the left leg to raise slightly when the doctor snapped his fingers in the right ear and the right leg for when he did the same in the clones left ear.  The tests were all done very quickly; it was obvious this process was quite routine for the staff. 

Dodge wondered how many people were restored daily in that very room; it must have been upwards of twenty.   The Doctor rechecked the memory bank position in the console to make sure it was seated securely in the port.  He typed in, what appeared to be some access
codes, from a digiboard the nurse brought in and then hit the start button. The nurse quickly left the room and the Doctor stepped behind a little dividing wall and sat on a stool.  He was viewing a monitor and while doing that he grabbed a bottle of water he had stowed back there and took a nice long drink without ever taking his eyes off the monitor.  Thousands of lines were flying across the screen but it only meant something to the doctor and Dodge.  Dodge knew what it was because of his involvement in the design of the system, but he still couldn’t tell anyone.  The doctor was simply viewing parity bit checks for the communications link between the console and the clone’s brain, a clone that would soon be his Father. 

Lines of code flying by were a good sign that the communications port was working correctly.  Even if a bit of code didn’t copy the system would simply send it over again up to thirty times before it would halt the system with an error code.   The entire transfer only took about nine minutes and then the screen showed a large “complete” message. 

The doctor went to the console, ended the program, and waited as the needle retracted out and the robotic arm moved out of the way.  He took some vitals on the clone and left the room.  He returned a few minutes later with several staff members trailing him.  They began loosening the restraints that were previously applied quite tightly.  The clone already had an IV inserted and the nurse began to administer something into that connection as the curtain was lowered again.  

A few moments later the curtain went up.  What seemed to be a lifeless body just moments ago was now a living breathing Alan Kerrington.  The staff had him raised up in a sitting position
in the bed and had freed one on his hands. He was looking at all of them through the large window and smiling as he waved to them followed by an inspection of his own hand, the very one that he had just waved to them with. 

The whole family moved closer to the glass in awe of what they had just witnessed.  It was one thing to know that a fourteen-year-old boy died and was restored the same day when you’re sitting there looking at him, but it was a whole different thing to see an old, dying man restored into a much younger version of him right before your eyes! 

They didn’t see Bobby restored, they only saw him after it was complete.  This time they actually witnessed the whole process, amazing!  The staff was already talking with Alan and asking him some test questions as a nurse was freeing him from the remaining restraints.  The doctor walked over to an intercom and pressed the button.
         “Congratulations Kerrington family and friends, your loved one is fully restored and doing very well.  Please exit the observation area now to your left and proceed to room 876.  He will be there in a few minutes for a visit.”  Alan waved again as they were wheeling him out of the room on the bed. 

As the Kerrington’s left the observation room, another family was waiting right outside.  They were obviously a little nervous and the Kerrington’s were all smiling and talking.  As they passed, the inbound family was curious.
         “What was it like?” one of them asked as they were passing.  Linsey spoke up.  “It was the most incredible thing we’ve ever seen, you’re going to love it!” 

“It’s so cool,” added Bobby, “Grandpa got younger in like five minutes!” 

The other family was glad to see them coming out so happy about the results and seemed a little relieved as they went on in.  In a few minutes the Kerrington’s were comfortably seated in a large room that was just like a home family room.  It was softly lit and equipped with a well-stocked kitchenette, a large TV, and game console.  There was also a spacious balcony with chairs and a table on the other end for large groups. 

They had only been there for about ten minutes when the door swung open and a smiling nurse came in pushing Allan in a wheelchair announcing as she came through the door.
         “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the new and much younger, Alan Kerrington!” 

Alan began greeting everyone by name and seemed exactly himself, just so much younger, it was unbelievable. 

              “Well Dad how do you feel?” asked Dodge.
         “I feel great!”  The nurse interrupted politely . . . ,
         “Mr. Kerrington, would you like to stand up and move around a little bit?”
         “Yes, I would like that.”  She clicked the wheel locks on the chair.
         “Okay you’re ready to go.” 

Slowly and carefully Alan stood up.  He began to take baby steps and then sat back down in the wheelchair and released the wheel locks.  He moved around the room for a few minutes and began to look comfortable.  He rolled over to a large mirror that was on the wall as a decoration more than for checking your hair.  He just sat there looking at himself and then he ran his fingers through his thick hair, he couldn’t believe it.  He turned around and looked at his family.
         “Thank you for talking me into doing this.” 

             
He looked back into the mirror and was checking out his new younger look.  The nurse was smiling as she left the room.       “Well you all enjoy and just buzz me with this button right here by the door if you need anything.”  The whole family thanked her as she was leaving.
         “No need to thank me, I love this job!” 

They continued to visit with Grandpa for another two hours.  The nurse returned and called Dodge out to an office adjacent to the visiting room and then Alan’s regular doctor came in.
         “Well is everything appearing to be normal?” he asked.
         “Yes, my Father is acting just like himself only much happier because he’s no longer sick.” 

“Okay great, we’ll move him down to his recovery room where he’ll be staying for the next few days to ensure that he can eat normally and keep down that first meal or two.  We’ll get him acclimated to his new body and get those muscles working better.  After he gets his strength built up he can go home, maybe as soon as Friday.”
         “That’s great.”
         “After we remove him from the visiting suite we’ll bring in some questionnaire forms for each of you to fill out.  This is standard procedure to make sure he acted normally toward each person and understood his current reality, okay?”
         “All right, thanks Doc.”