I woke up still laying on the big table. I was not uncomfortable in the least, as I was covered with a light blanket and my head rested on a soft pillow. My injured left leg didn't hurt a bit; in fact, I could not feel it from the knee down. As soon as I opened my eyes, a chime sounded and Sarah walked up to the table.
Sarah shined a small light in my eyes and asked me some nonsensical questions. She asked if I knew where I was and who she was. My mouth was mighty dry, but I managed to croak out answers that satisfied her. She handed me a cup of water with ice in it. As I drank, she filled me in on what had been done while I was unconscious.
"While you were under, we did some microsurgery on your leg. The beam path made a perfect conduit for our micro instruments and miniature camera. The procedure was straight forward, and we did not run into anything unexpected. We repaired the chip in your fibula with calcium putty that will harden into bone in about forty-eight hours.
"Repairing your deep peroneal nerve was a little more difficult, because about a half inch of it was vaporized by the particle beam. We were able to affect a splice between the two ends of the nerve, using a thick thread of your neurological stem cells. For the next seventy two hours, that thread will transform itself into clones of the nerve cells to which it is attached. When the conversion is complete, the nerve will be completely functional again.
"The bullet wound through your leg was surprisingly clean and infection free, so we applied a material called 'dermaplast' to the entrance and exit wounds. The dermaplast is also made from your stem cells, and will close the wound by cloning itself to your skin cells."
I had to make her go back and clarify a bunch of the future medical gobbledygook, but Sarah patiently explained everything so all my questions were answered. The gist of her lecture was that I would be mostly off my feet for three days. After three days, I would be as good as new, no limp, no foot dragging, just a couple of small scars.
Another pair of cheerful friendly folks came into the room and loaded me onto one of the rolling beds. They whisked me from the mediscan room back to the room in which Doctor Mendez stuck me when I first arrived. This time, though, the two medical assistants rolled me right into the room without having to do anything special to open the door. Sarah, who had been walking with us, commented on that.
"There is no quarantine in place this time, Jeb, so you can come and go as you please. I know that's not much consolation right now, given that you are bedridden, but three days from now, it will still be unlocked."
The room had been changed since I was last in it. The sofa, chair and coffee table were gone, replaced by a medium sized bed with a small rolling table next to it. According to the glowing green numbers over the cooking stove, it was five in the afternoon when Sarah and the orderlies tucked me into the comfortable bed. One of the helpers filled a metal ewer with water and ice, set it on the small table next to the bed, and departed with the other orderly.
While the orderlies were fussing over me, Sarah had retreated into the tiny area that passed for a kitchen, and started removing things from the ice box. She put some containers into the instant stove thing-a-ma-bob, closed the glass door and pushed some buttons before she came over to where I was laying.
"I had someone make us some red beans with ham and rice. As soon as it's warm, we'll eat. I know you must be starving," she said.
She knew me too well, because by then, my big intestines were eating my little ones. She fixed me a bowl of beans and rice and adjusted the table so it was over my lap. Then she adjusted the bed until I was sitting upright. As we were eating, I asked her if she had heard from Coleen about Sonja and the other women's condition. She frowned and nodded.
"Some of those girls are severely damaged, both mentally and physically. It will take some time for them to deal with the emotional trauma. Right now, three of them are in hyperbolic sleep while their bodies heal. While they are in suspended animation, the nuero-psychiatric units are expunging the worst of the memories. Thank goodness, Sonja was only a captive for a day. She was abused, but not to the extent the other women were. I suspect she'll be along to visit you shortly."
After making her say that mouthful in words I could understand, I felt a wash of relief that Sonja was okay. I still cared deeply for her, even though we had polar-opposite views about the New Englanders. For that matter, I still cared for Coleen, even though I thought her spoiled, head-strong and willful.
Sarah's prediction was proven correct, when Sonja, Helena and Coleen dropped in for a visit later that evening. I was surprised that except for itching terribly as the feeling returned, my wound bothered me none at all. As soon as Coleen arrived, she and Sarah changed the dressing on my leg. I think they did that mostly so Coleen could check my wound herself. I was having my problems dealing with Coleen's personality, but I did not question for a second her ability as a doctor.
I was happy to see Helena and she felt the same way. Helena and I had a bond that was very strong but her position as the lead scientist on the Hawkingium project was forever keeping us apart. Some mysterious something had to be done with the dozens of pounds of the stuff we brought back with us and she was key to getting it done. She kissed me and told me she loved me.
"The critical phase of stabilizing the Hawkingium we brought back is almost completed, Jeremiah, and when it is I want to spend as much time with you as possible," she said.
Sonja was in a better state of mind that evening also. She was somewhat subdued in her demeanor, but at least she was not acting as if she was about to jump out of her skin. When she asked if she could lay with me, I scooted to the edge of the bed and she carefully crawled in beside me. A few minutes later, Coleen and Helena departed, and Sarah went to bed. Sonja was pressed up tightly to my side. I knew she had something on her mind, so I waited patiently for her to spit it out. After ten minutes of snuggling, she finally let it out.
"I've been thinking about those horrid Juicers all day, Jeremiah. Not just about what they did to me; I am coming to grips with that. I was thinking about what they felt compelled to do to their own bodies. Did you know that some of the women who assaulted me had chemically altered themselves until their clitorises became small penises? They actually bragged about their ability to commit rape, and took delight in raping us with their mutated organs.
"Until this evening, I thought that Professor Ballard had coerced his followers into his plans. I know different now, because Tonya's investigation of Ballard has already turned up dozens of more people in the process of altering themselves to become juicers. That's why Tonya's not here, by-the-way, she's out rounding up the last of them.
"All this evening, I've also been thinking about what I saw in New London, and at the Juicer camp. As I thought about it, I realized that Liz Smith was correct when she said our society is on the verge of collapse. I'm not ready to say her ideas are the solution, but I have to admit that her people are the only ones doing anything constructive about it."
I agreed with Sonja, but I did not know if she was expressing how she felt, or if she was acting as an agent for the Pleiad to gain information from me. Even if she was the Pleiad's agent, I still spoke truthfully. I was through with stepping lightly around these folks.
"You are right that Liz's ideas might not be the best, but they are a dozen times better than what is happening in this valley. And if you think about it, the Juicers were not that big a leap from the tinkering you all have done with nature anyway. Ballard just took your playing God to a new level. I really appreciate all you folks have done for me, but as soon as I am well enough to travel, I am heading out. I cannot in good conscience stay around her and watch as you commit slow suicide."
I expected more of a reaction out of Sonja, but she did not even stiffen at my pronouncement.
"Where will you go?" was all she asked.
What she asked was also the question on my own mind. The way I looked at it, the three choices I faced were stay in the valley, join Liz's cause, or go back to my own time. Choice number one, I had just ruled out, and the ill will between me and the people running this mess probably ruled out option three.
"I am probably going to join the New Englanders. I think what meager skills I have would be of better use to them than to you all anyway. If you can arrange it, I will tell Mister Bearclaw that as soon as I can walk."
Again, Sonja did not react as I expected, instead, she nodded her head and chuckled.
"I don't see you doing any less, Jeremiah. Although I have to add that your 'meager skills' have probably saved my life three times in the three weeks I've known you. Seriously, though, I am starting to see Liz's point. It was a revelation to me that we as a society are so out of touch that something as insidious as the Juicers could flourish right under our noses."
We talked a while longer, until the tablet Sarah gave me made me too drowsy to continue. I yawned and apologized to Sonja right before I started sawing logs.
I awoke the next morning as the first light of dawn filtering into the valley pushed away the gloom of the night. The sleep had refreshed me and I felt sinfully good as I stretched and yawned. My stretching disturbed the still snoozing Sonja, and she muttered something and pressed herself tighter against my side. How we both managed to make it through the night without falling off the bed was a miracle. We must not have moved an inch all night.
I was enjoying the feel of Sonja's naked body and Little Johnny Reb was as at full extension, but I had to pee so badly, my eye teeth were floating. I swung out of the bed and stood up. I was about to take a step, when I remembered my injured leg. I stopped short and stood still, waiting for it to protest such rough treatment so soon after my surgery. Strangely, my leg felt as good as the rest of me. I took a tentative step, and when I felt no hint of pain, shrugged and walked to the bathroom. As soon as I took the first step, I knew whatever Sarah had done was successful, because my foot swung up smoothly at the ankle and my gait was perfectly normal.
I had my head in the ice box, scrounging around for something to eat, when I heard Sarah gasp.
"What on Earth are you doing out of bed?" she screeched.
Her yelling woke up Sonja, who sat up quickly and gaped at us. I explained to Sarah how good I felt. She looked dubious, then amazed as I showed her that I could walk normally.
"There is no way you should have healed that rapidly. Go sit at the table and I'll call for some breakfast for us. As soon as we eat, I'm taking you back to Mediscan." She huffed.
Sarah became even testier when I insisted on taking a shower before I did anything else. Sonja volunteered to help me, however, so Sarah put up with it.
The shower made my good morning even better as Sonja and I washed each other clean as a whistle. I was hesitant to touch her because of her recent ordeal, but she was of the opposite opinion. She considered my hands on her therapeutic.
"I love how you touch me, Jeremiah," she said. "It is the perfect antidote for what happened."
I was all for administering an even more potent antidote, but Sonja put me off until after my trip to Mediscan Unit Two.
"We'll finish this when Sarah clears you medically. Until then, I'm not about to do something that might set back your recovery. If I did that, there would be hell to pay from your other women," she said with a laugh.
Thirty minutes later, I was in my familiar spot on the metallic table. Since it was early morning, Sarah did not have any trouble securing the unit for her use. Sarah told me to lie still while the unit looked me over. I did not as much as twitch for the three minutes it took. Sarah was so intent on something on the picture machine, she seemed to forget I was there. She finally looked up when I called her name.
"Sorry," she said contritely, "but this is amazing. The scan shows your leg almost completely healed. The osteoputty has completely set, the nerve splice looks as if you were never injured, and your wound is ninety percent closed. You can sit up, but stay on the scanning bed for a minute. I need Coleen's take on this."
Sarah snatched up her vidcomm and called Coleen as I sat up on the table and pulled down the leg to my britches. Sarah and I were chatting about me going back to the outlands for about five minutes, before Coleen careened through the door. Completely ignoring me, she and Sarah had a whispered conversation as they both stared at the picture machine. Finally, Coleen looked up and gave me the first sincere smile I'd seen from her in days.
"You are a constant surprise, Jeremiah, I'll give you that. We have never seen such rapid healing. If you consent, we'd like another blood sample."
I smiled and nodded my assent. Coleen was learning that when dealing with mules and muleskinners, asking reasonably, instead of making presumptuous demands, was the best course of action.
We chatted for a few minutes, and when I asked, Coleen informed me that Sonja was bouncing back to normal quite rapidly.
"I think her experiences in your time have made her more resilient than the other women. She also wasn't there that long, so she wasn't ground down by the constant abuse. Also, the unshakeable faith Tonya had in you coming to their rescue, gave Sonja strength.
"By the way, Tonya just laughed when we recommended she see a psychiatrist. She said that the form of therapy you taught her was much better. She rounded up all the juicer candidates and seized Ballard's lab and computers, then waltzed in to Security Detachment's operations office and resigned her commission. The Pleiad is most unhappy with her doing that. She said to tell you that she'd be over to see you as soon as she caught a few hours sleep."
Before I could formulate a comment about all that, the result of my blood tests came streaming across the screen they were sitting in front of. By the time half the screen was filled with glowing green numbers, both women were jabbering excitedly. I could not for the life of me follow the conversation, because I only recognized one or two words in every exchange. After about three minutes of rapid fire conversation in what sounded like mostly Latin, Sarah turned to me with an explanation that I could understand.
"No wonder you heal so quickly, Jeb, your auto-immune system is at least twice as strong as an altered person, and two and a half times stronger than we unenhanced people. Your stem cells are much stronger and more efficient, too." she said excitedly.
Sarah was beaming happily, but Coleen looked thoughtful. She glanced at the screen one more time and then turned to me.
"When you arrived here, we only did a cursory check of your DNA and blood, Jeremiah, to make sure your presence was not a threat to us. When we introduced you to the Mediscan, it was to assess your health and make sure your presence here was not a threat to you. It seems that the small adjustments we made to your body, coupled with your strong constitution, have made you the type of superior physical specimen that Ballard was trying to achieve. We will need to put you through a much more stringent series of medical test to determine what other surprises you have for us," she said.
I noticed that Sarah frowned at what Coleen said as I gave her my reply.
"I will be happy to help," I lied. "Set it up for tomorrow."
It would be a cold day in hell before I let these people mess around with my body any more than they had already. Their eagerness to tinker with God's creations unsettled me, and Sarah frown indicated that she was not happy with the idea either. Putting Coleen off until the next day gave me twenty-four hours to escape to the outlands.
Coleen reinforced my resolve when she said she was going to share the results of my test with Doctor Mendez. I did not trust Mendez any further than I could throw him. As soon as Coleen was out of the room, I started to express my concerns to Sarah. She put her finger to her lips to shush me.
"We'll talk about that later. Right now, let's get you outside for some fresh air," she said.
Even a dumb old muleskinner could figure out that she thought someone might overhear our conversation that did not need to, so I shut my bear trap. We did not finish the conversation until we were sitting on a concrete bench out in the grassy and tree-lined square in the center of the university complex. I trusted Sarah Honicutt much more than I did the rest of the medicos, including Coleen, so I told her my misgivings without divulging my plan to escape. She shared my concerns.
"I don't trust Doctor Mendez not to experiment on you, Jeb. He considers you somehow less than human, so to him, medical ethics wouldn't necessarily apply to you. It might be better if we found somewhere else to be tomorrow."
"We?" I asked.
She nodded her head quickly.
"Both of us. I am not going to be a part of anything Mendez might have in mind, and you are still my patient," she said emphatically.
Then she dropped her eyes shyly and continued.
"Besides, I want to be with you more than I want to stay here. I overheard what you told Sonja about joining the Outlanders, and I want to go with you."
I pulled her into my arms and gave her a kiss, then stood up and took her hand.
"Let's go back to the apartment and wait for Tonya. She will know how to get us out of here without raising any alarms. Having you with us will make me very happy," I said.
Back in the small apartment, we continued the kiss we started on the bench in the square. I loved the feel of Sarah's plush body, so different from all the other women I'd been with in this time. As our passions heated up, Sarah suddenly pulled away from me.
"Before we get too involved, I need to tell you something, Jeb."
I nodded and she continued.
"If we make love, chances are I'll become pregnant. I am fertile, because I was lucky enough to have my name selected in the annual reproduction lottery last year. Population is controlled here by strictly limiting the number of children born each year. Last year, over five thousand women applied for the one hundred pregnancy permits authorized. No man I have approached about fathering a child with me was interested, because I insisted that the baby be unaltered."
Sarah's little speech gave me pause, because I did not have a clear answer for her. On the one hand, I would love fathering her child, but on the other, I was obviously not in a position to commit myself to being around to help her raise our off spring. When I told her that, she smiled and kissed me.
"It's sweet that you are concerned for me, but in our society, the father is seldom involved with raising a child anyway. That you might spend any time with us would be extraordinary."
Having heard that, I was unresisting as she pulled me into the bedroom.
When Sarah said "make love," she was not just whistling Dixie, because that is exactly what we did. Yes, there was passion aplenty, but it was tempered with a sweet tenderness that made the experience much more fulfilling. To add icing on the cake, Sarah was a passionate woman, and for the difference in our size, we fit together surprisingly well. We were both dazed when I finally fell off her an hour and three stupendous couplings later. We cuddled together afterwards, oblivious that we were covered in sweat and the evidence of our joining. I can not remember ever being as content with a woman as I was at that moment. I guess Sarah felt the same way, because she kept murmuring my name and kissing any part of me she could reach.
We climbed out of the bed after a few minutes of recuperation and tumbled into the shower. As we were drying off, Sarah giggled at my growling stomach and promised me a nice lunch for making her so happy.
We were sitting at the table polishing off the last of the roast beef sandwiches she'd made, when Tonya came waltzing through the door. Tonya looked different somehow, more alive and vibrant as she gave me a steamy kiss. She was as amazed as everyone else that I was already on my feet, and listened closely as Sarah explained the reason why. Tonya immediately grasped the implications of me submitting to testing by Mendez and his crew, even though Coleen would be there. She made sure the device that recorded everything that happened in the room was disabled before she said anything.
"We need to get you out of here, Jeremiah, and the sooner the better. Give me an hour or two and I'll set something up."
When Sarah mentioned that she was going also, Tonya sent her to gather whatever essentials she needed to travel with. For my part, I had left my weapons with Liz and my other possessions were still at her house, so all I had were my saddle bags with a change of clothes in them. Both women gave me kisses and departed.
The dust from the women leaving had hardly settled before Sonja returned from meeting with the Pleiad. She looked concerned as she sat down at the small kitchen table with me. Before she sat down, she performed the same ritual that Tonya had to insure our privacy. Once she was seated, she explained her agitation.
"The news of the Juicers and the extent of their organization are not sitting well with the citizens. The recall process has already started to remove Chairman Bearclaw and three of his supporters from the Pleiad. The voting is about even so far, but there is a good chance that we will have a new Pleiad and Council before the day is over. So I don't think a meeting with Bearclaw is in your future.
"Also, a surprising percentage of the talk on the discussion boards is about forming closer relations with the Outlanders to prevent something like this from happening again. I am amazed by the number of citizens who are sympathetic to Liz Smith's cause. Anyway, given all the upheaval, it might be best if you lay low for a while."
I told her I thought that was good advice and that I would do that very thing. I did not tell her of my plans, because I did not know whether she would keep them to herself. After all, she was still the Pleiad's top assistant, and she had already shown much loyalty to them. I figured I could get word to her once I was out of the government's reach.
Leaving the university and town was not the slightest problem, because as far as everyone knew, I was still an employee of the Pleiad and a patient at the hospital. Tonya rounded up one of the bigger horseless carriages and drove it pell-mell to her mother's ranch. Tonya reminded me of my stage coach driving friend Bob Randolph, as she whipped the big carriage around a couple of curves with reckless abandon. Remembering my experience with Bob when we were being pursued by robbers, I kept looking behind us. I guess it dawned on Sarah what I was doing, because she smiled reassuringly and put her hand on my arm.
"No one is after us, Jeremiah, or Tonya would be driving faster," she said.
Amazingly, we made it to Carol Lawson's spread without dying. I was very happy to hop out of the carriage when it rolled to a stop. Once again, Carol came out on the porch to meet us, only this time, she was wearing a short dress that hugged her figure as if it was applied with a paint brush. On her feet she wore some sort of slipper with a long and narrow heel. She was easily the sexiest dressed woman I had ever seen. Tonya saw her mother and let out a groan.
Just to tease Tonya, I bounded up onto the porch, took Carol in my arms and kissed her soundly. She sagged against me when I pulled my lips from hers.
"That frock is quite fetching on you, Missus Lawson," I said formally.
She gave me a devilish smile and a wink with her face hidden from Tonya.
"This old thing?" she asked in mock surprise. "This is what I wear when I clean house."
I looked over at Tonya as she rolled her eyes heavenward.
"My mother is a hussy," she moaned.
I was stunned when Carol replied, "I'm seventy-one years old, Tonya, so I guess I can be anything I want to be."
Carol looked about half the age she claimed, if that even. I was definitely asking Sarah about the rejuvenation thing first chance I had. I mean, I knew that folks here were older than they looked, but Great Scott!
After greeting Carol, I helped the other women with their baggage. They both had packed a couple of valises with clothing to last them a while. Thinking of the baggage and the need to move them, reminded me that we had left the mounts we had borrowed from Carol at the Juicer camp, under the care of the New England Militia. I flushed in embarrassment about it and quickly apologized to Carol.
"No Problem Honey," she said breezily, "Liz messaged me that she had a detail bring them back. They will be waiting at the top of the first ridge tomorrow morning. Instead of me riding up and bringing them home, you can just take them out again."
My ears perked up at the mention of staying another night at Carol's. Not only was I in for another good meal, I was also going to spend another evening in the company of this enchanting woman who claimed to be even older than my elderly mother.
Of Course, I had misunderstood, and instead of sleeping in a comfortable bed in the log house, we ended up sleeping on mats in a drovers' hut halfway up the valley rim. We spent the night there to make it harder for any pursuit that might materialize. We did get a good meal before we left, and Carol went with us to bring the mules and horses we were riding back. Sarah was not the horsewoman Tonya or Carol was, but she could ride well enough to keep up. And I'll tell you, being there with those three future women made the dilapidated line shack seem like a mansion as they all three snuggled me all night long to keep warm.