She just couldn’t shake being bothered by it in the meantime. Was he a ticking timebomb, or simply just as flawed psychologically as many people were, constantly altering their lives by getting caught up in conflicts or reconciling? Was it just human to turn to the human capacity to nurture and address our fears and anxieties with potential solutions? Dr. Kintain and Dr. Sato were learning just with one clone what the spectrum of clone capacity was, meaning it was limited data. Yet, as the DNA samples were being incubated currently in the lab, what would they find when they had a population? It wasn’t ideal that they were going to find out on a spaceship far away from Earth. She worried, but there was nothing they could do.
Circumstances most certainly were often not ideal in any case, especially in pioneering efforts. Some might see only the dangers of uranium, for instance, but the radioactive core and nuclear forces at the core of Earth have kept Earth’s core hot. Speculation about whether rogue planets might have radioactive cores to keep them warm has led to the possibility that in fact that is where life in the galaxy might be found rather than within the habitable zone.
She wondered at times whether any form of life could be pulled away from its destructive capability with a commitment like Dr. Kintain had to a daily vigilance and broadening of understanding and empathy. In the meantime, as some of the DNA samples had been merged in external wombs, she figured it would be important to maintain a strict policy of separation until they had more time to study the clone population. Many on Earth had been willing to participate in the clone program that she administered, but they certainly expected it to be safe, with no casualties or clone-causing mishaps.
And as Epoh became more and more capable in the lab, they shared a hope that they would gather a better understanding of how he worked with humans. So far, there had been absolutely no problems other than occasional misunderstandings. Her lab partners found that Epoh was incapable of spiritual or philosophical musings.
She entered the small place of worship at the end of the medical team’s hallway to briefly light a candle in memory of Earth, the home they would leave behind, in hopes that this daily habit of hers would remind her of the place where she had been born and had become a danger to humankind. Lately, she’d paused outside taking in all of the wildlife and nature she would miss dearly. It would be strange to look out windows and not see trees and sky. Yet, her own fears of perishing on Earth had turned her reluctance at first to an opportunity to finally expand humanity’s horizons. Now, she was mostly certain that—as sad as it was—star-trekking was only made possible when it seemed that humans were in grave danger.
In other words, just like Epoh’s existence in the human journey posed a potential threat, at least with Epoh, it could be managed. If all else failed, she and her lab partners were willing to do whatever was necessary to prevent any harm to the humans on board. Yet, Earth, unlike Epoh, had been mistreated, and it had forced them first to be refugees.
As Dr. Sato walked away from her candle back to the lab, she considered it debatable that they would be refugees for long, rather pioneers. She hoped those on Earth would be able to survive whatever the future held so that they could prosper together eventually, once they settled among the stars. She knew on this last point, she could barely talk to Tom since he had a rather dismal view of Earth’s future, but the catastrophes on Earth were emboldening leaders like President Stevens. She was more inclined to think, ‘who knows.’ Still, she was glad the ship was closer to its launch date.
The door to the place of worship slid closed, and she walked toward Dr. Kintain’s lab. As she entered, she smiled seeing them hard at work.
“Hello, Epoh. Hello, Dr. Kintain. What discoveries have been made today?”
Epoh and Dr. Kintain said, “Well, we might be able to proclaim 2030 as the last generation to suffer from Alzheimer’s.”
She gleamed with abundant curiosity. Epoh never showed any expressions, which always threw her for a loop. Her lip curled a bit, and she decided to look at Dr. Kintain, whose expression was priceless. If a smile could be broader, it would be as walkable as a beach. It appeared she couldn’t hide her worry that someday Dr. Kintain wouldn’t be there to alter Epoh’s course or line of thinking. What if at the wrong moment Epoh didn’t have an empathetic response to a person, from all of this conditioning, but instead plowed ahead with his discoveries only to turn people into potential test rabbits?
“Is it sound? Reliable? How can we know?” she asked Dr. Kintain.
“I have tested it. And not in the worst imaginable way as I can glean from the expression on your face. Let’s be clear, we tested it properly. And the plaque, the amyloid protein fragments, have broken down in the brain’s nerve cells with the introduction of Epoh’s caffeine-magnesium-vitamin E treatment. Dr. Sato, he may be the fastest learner I’ve ever had the pleasure of training.”
Dr. Sato couldn’t help wondering what was rolling around in Epoh’s head though. For the time being, it was essential that she have faith in Dr. Kintain’s handling of Epoh, as he would be essential in molding the clones developing in utero now. She could continue to give positive reports to Tom with confidence and not share her own doubts. Tom needed to focus exclusively on the upcoming launch. Maybe it was just her imagination getting the best of her, she thought.
“That is amazing. I would like to further explore it and test it with different variables with my team this week.”
“That would be just fine, Dr. Sato,” said Dr. Kintain as he glanced over at Epoh. “Epoh will be glad when our latest reward for his services is complete. We have engineered for him a companion, and soon he will be rewarded for all of his breakthroughs.”
When Dr. Sato looked at him, no warmth exuded from him at the thought of the reward. Epoh didn’t look curious at all. This was a strange response to her. Dr. Sato longed to find a companion. It took up much of her thinking, and at night when she went to bed, it became clear that she wanted it with all of her heart. Who would she find on board that would satisfy her desires and love her? She stopped letting her thoughts and heart wander and looked at Epoh, hoping for some sign of contentment or relief. Nothing. Her nerves got the best of her and her jaw clenched.
“In the meantime, I’m starving,” Epoh said.
He walked toward the kitchen in his compartment and disappeared from her view when he turned the corner into the kitchen. She heard the door slide shut behind him.
He would function well, she thought. Now if she could only see her relationship to Epoh as one that could be entirely trusting.
Chapter 48 – Visitors
Tom Burns, The Imagine, Rocky Mountains, CO
About six weeks before the planned launch date, Jose, Sam and Tom were testing navigational sextants in order to be able to rely on the small telescope-like navigational tools without computer assistance. They were all impressed at how they could take precise angle measurements between pairs of stars to navigate.
An officer interrupted their experimentation to announce that some visitors were waiting to see them.