Very excited! My new novel, Thawing A.C. Nielsen, is now up and available for "pre-sale" (just $2.99 for Kindle or other ebook format, then price goes up before the holidays) on Kindle here:
http://amzn.to/2bULRD1
Selling like crazy- please go to that link and consider ordering the ebook or at least sharing the info with other book enthusiasts! It's already hitting top 100 various genre lists on Amazon!
Newly posted there-- a 5-star review from one of the top reviewing companies! Until it goes "live for sale" there won't be any customer reviews or samples-- that happens Oct. 18th. There will also be a paperback version up soon. Check it out and please spread the word. I need all the publicity help I can get since I am not giving away my book to a mainstream publishing house!
I am wondering if any of you would consider reviewing the book. It will be released on Amazon/Kindle on October 18th. I need reviews from regular folks posted to amazon on the release day, if possible. You get a FREE pdf, word.doc or .mobi (Kindle ebook file) copy and plenty of time between now and mid-October to read it. Let me know, friends!
Ch 31: Wow- after all the success reviving small mammals the crew discusses whether they are ready to revive a human being, and guess what--A.C. Nielsen, Gloria's favorite, may just be the most likely candidate. But first Kate needs some convincing from everyone else in the room discussing the situation!
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
March 2014
“Okay, everyone,” Mike announced, clapping to get
everyone’s attention. The whole group was gathered at the conference room
table, chatting as they waited for the meeting to begin. “Here’s why we are meeting
today. Gloria Dunham wants us to revive our good friend A.C. Nielsen. I’m not a
doctor, so you tell me why this makes sense to tackle or no. Who’s first?”
“Oh, I’ll go first,” Kate
said, instantaneously agitated. “We’re not ready. Totally not ready. We have
one cat padding around the building for a couple months and all of a sudden
we’re ready to revive a human?”
“That’s our goal, isn’t
it?” Edouard looked over at Mike. “And don’t forget, I’m due at my new job
before long. But aside from that issue, what’s stopping us from trying?”
“Seriously, Edouard? You
of all people willing to be reckless?” Kate pleaded, then began to nervously
yank at her hair. “I’ve never seen that side of you in the lab. And, Mike, why
do we have to do whatever Gloria Dunham says? What’s that all about?”
“We don’t do whatever
she wants, Kate. I’m in charge here. I’m simply here asking all of you for your
scientific or medical stance on this. And, Kate, please, no drama, just
professional opinions. In regard to Gloria, she is a large shareholder and as
such has a right to ask what we’re doing short term or long term. No matter how
silly you think the A.C. Nielsen apartment and its staffing is, all of that is
money Gloria has laid out.” Mike crossed his arms, signaling his authority. “We
may not like her, but she is part of the company and from time to time, we have
to tap her assets. In fact, that may have to come up soon. We don’t have the
money to run all the intensive research and experiments you’d like, and this
place costs a fortune to run on a daily basis, even with the energy side-income
helping out—you have no idea.”
“Listen, Amman has
brought back animals,” Edouard remarked, spinning in his chair, making eye
contact with each person as he spoke. “Humans are just large, talkative
animals, right? And Mike has built a tank the right size for a human. It’s
sitting there waiting for us to use. Kate, if you want to tweak or reformulate
a few things, fine. Take time for that, no problem—we can do that.”
“Kate, I assure you that
Nielsen’s medical issues are curable by today’s standards.” Miles tapped on the
table to hammer his point. “It’s 2014 now—Ronald Reagan and Nancy aren’t in the
White House. We’ve got new drugs and new procedures that will attack that
advanced lung cancer of his, no problem. Same thing for his cirrhosis. Wasn’t
that the point of cryo—to stop time in its tracks until a cure was there for
the people here? Who said we had to wait a hundred years?”
“We haven’t thought
through the ethics.”
“And how long do you
want to debate any of that, Kate?” Edouard asked. “Six months? A year? Five? There
are no clear answers to any of the ethics questions ExitStrategy raises. What
are we waiting for?”
Miles nodded. “I agree.
Screw ethics. Just do it. Be bold and do whatever you think is right. We tiptoe
around ethics too much. Let university professors diddle with that.”
“Okay, let me jump back
in here,” Mike said. “When you revived the cat you added a layer to the
procedure, correct?”
“Yes, once he wasn’t
frozen stiff we imaged his brain,” Amman said. “Before he started having those
EEG pulse suppressions we looked closely, layer by layer. There were no prions
present, so we continued reviving him. We could spare the time since we weren’t
yet in the critical temperature zone for resuscitation. We didn’t know why he
had no prion disease, but that wasn’t our concern right then. We had agreed
that there wasn’t any point in bringing back another animal afflicted with prion
disease.”
“And, Kate, remember,”
Chrissy said, attempting to soothe Kate’s raw nerves, “once again, the cryo
apparently is fixing major health problems in some strange, magical way. We’ve
got a perfectly healthy, very frisky cat prowling around here. He doesn’t even
come close to acting his age. In 1991 he had advanced feline leukemia and renal
failure. He was coughing up ginormous hairballs as well, all according to
Keith. But look at him now—he’s perfect. And for all we know, Mr. Nielsen’s
preexisting medical problems may be gone, just like with the animals.”
“Kate, I think you’re
stuck in the way-back machine. Nineteenth-century moral concerns don’t fit in
the twenty-first century,” Edouard said, exasperated. “Stop holding this thing
back. We’re ready to move forward. We’ll scan Mr. Nielsen’s brain for prions
once he’s not frozen solid. If there aren’t any, like in John Cougar’s case, we
bring him back.”
“And a reminder,” Miles
added, “you don’t have that many cryo’d animals left to keep practicing on.”
“So, I’m the only one
here who thinks it’s too early?!” Kate exclaimed, losing her control as she
slammed the table with both fists. “Really? No one agrees that we need more
time to think this through?”
“Kate,” Mike said
calmly, not taking the bait, “let me remind you that we never promised cures to
these people. They signed a Universal Body Donor Agreement and left themselves
in our hands. They trusted us. And think about it—out of all these patients,
who has the most support from the living? It’s Nielsen, Kate. Gloria is there
for him. Franklin and I also developed a fondness for the man. Whatever help he
needs will be there for him. I promise you.”
“And if he’s alive but a
vegetable?”
“Kate, I just addressed
that,” Mike said firmly, his blood pressure finally rising as he lectured her.
Kate wanted to snap off the pointy old finger he was jabbing the air with.
“Were Mr. T or Laverne
vegetables when we revived them?” Chrissy asked. “Is John Cougar? We’ve had a
hell of a lot of success here.”
“So I’m the only one
opposed? No one else has qualms?”
“Of course we do,” Edouard
said, “but I, for one, will never let that paralyze what I do professionally.
Don’t forget, I’m from Haiti, Kate—every day there is a crapshoot. You’re too
damned privileged and cautious. But it’s not even really that. I’m saying it’s
a go because Miles is right—this guy’s preexistings are curable today. This is
the scenario Mike and your Dr. Saltieri were building toward. How long does Mike
have to wait? Speaking as your friend and colleague, you need to honor what
they created here and keep this moving forward.”
“Jesus,” Kate said,
sighing heavily. “Miles, you’d be in charge. You’re the surgeon. What do you
need? I can’t believe I’m saying this.” Kate frowned as she tugged at her hair
again.
Miles smiled, seemingly
pleased at Kate’s change of heart, even if it was forced upon her. “The same
setup Amman had, just no guinea pig or kitten-sized equipment. I need the
big-boy stuff. Also, Kate, let me assure you—if Nielsen fails the prion
screening, we put him back into stasis. If I can’t restart his heart, same
thing. I know you think that is a big challenge, but you’re not a doctor. Give
a stopped heart some flow of normal temperature oxygenated blood and they’re
happy to reboot and take over the work. We don’t have to crank open the roof
and harness lightning like in a Frankenstein movie. It’s not his heart I’m
concerned about, it’s his brain function that matters. That’s the biggie.”
Kate peered around the
room, looking from face to face, trying to think it through. These were all
very smart people—highly talented, gifted professionals. Maybe it was time to
put the namby-pamby ethical worries aside.
“Kate, you’ve heard the medical
opinions here,” Mike said. “Your colleagues are ready. But it’s a no-go unless
you approve. You’re still my number one. What do you say?” His tone continued
to aggravate her, but she had to admit that the science had merit. Why is he even asking me when it’s obvious
that he has already made up his mind? Thanks
for the big ole plate of condescension, Cold Smokey.
“One question, Mike.
Level with me for real. Are we tackling this now just to please Gloria Dunham
or because we as a team think we can succeed?”
“You heard everyone
talk, Kate,” Mike said, impatiently. “They don’t give a damn what Gloria wants.
Hell, Edouard has never even met her. They’re all ready. Am I right, people?”
“Absolutely,” Edouard
shouted. “It’s time!”
“All right, I’ll agree,”
Kate said. Is this a compromise or
capitulation? she wondered.
“Very good, Kate,” Mike
said. “I’ll let Randolph Morgan know that we’ve decided to go for the gusto.
I’m sure Gloria will be very happy.”
“Fine, Mike,” Kate said
begrudgingly, “but we aren’t doing this tomorrow.”
“Day after, maybe? You know,
Kate, for something this historical we really ought to have a code name,” Miles
said.
“You watch too many
movies, Miles,” Kate said.
“You know, this is one
giant, epic code blue. Think about it, Nielsen’s been code for how many years?
I think we should call this Operation Code Ultra-Blue.”
“You’re really not as
funny as you think you are, Milstein,” Kate grumbled, her shoulders slumping.
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