James 4
James closed his eyes and considered his dilemma. He would have to take the new drug. No other choice was possible. He didn't hear his son when he returned from the kitchen.
"Do you have any questions you would like to ask?"
"No," James said without opening his eyes. "I've already decided, so let's get it over with."
"Would you like to call in another doctor?"
James' eyes flew open.
"If I wanted another doctor, I wouldn't have called you."
"Remove your right arm from your tunic."
James slipped his arm from the tunic, leaving his chest bare, while his son prepared to administer the new drug.
"This drug has to go into the artery of your right arm. You must lay absolutely still. It will feel very hot. You might think it's liquid fire, but you must not move. I have to inject one drop at a time, so it will take a while to administer the proper amount. Now, do you have any questions?"
"No."
"Do you want to change your mind?"
"No."
He sat down on the sofa beside his father and placed a small monitor on his chest above his heart to indicate his heart rate. He tied and elastic band around his upper right arm then looked deeply into his fathers eyes.
"Are you sure you trust me enough to do this?"
"Yes, I do. Now can we get this over with?"
"I think we should wait another minute or two. I want to make sure the other medication I gave you won't interfere. I want you to relax completely and let me know if you feel sleepy. If you have to move for any reason, be sure to let me know before you move. I wouldn't want to kill you just because you sneezed. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I can be."
"Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?"
"I don't want another doctor and I don't want to change my mind. I don't have any questions but I would like to get this over with so I can get a few things done."
He sprayed his fathers arm with antiseptic. He removed the old fashioned hypodremic needle from the sterile case and filled it from a small vial. Holding it up in front of him, he checked it for bubbles.
"This is going to burn like the fires of hell," he said as he carefully inserted the needle into the artery.
As the needle entered his arm, James felt a searing pain. When his son pulled the elastic band from his arm, it was even hotter. James' expression never changed. As the drug entered his blood stream, he felt as though his body were actually on fire. If this is even close to the fires of hell, he thought, eternity won't be much fun.
He watched as his son administered the drug slowly, never taking his eyes off the monitor. He was proud to see such confidence in his only son.
"I couldn't help but notice your swim trunks. Do you swim much?"
"A lot. When I'm at home, there's not much else to do.."
"How do you feel?"
"Hot and tired. My arm feels like it weighs a ton."
"Try to slow down your breathing."
"I'll try but my heart feels like it's going to jump right out of my chest."
"That's how I'll know how much medication to give you. How are things at work?"
"Everything's fine. I was awarded my inverted chevron this morning."
"I didn't know you had the first one."
"I'm starting my new position tomorrow."
"Good. You're too old to be chasing around in the woods like a kid. They should give those jobs to younger men."
"Are you trying to tell me that I'm not in good enough shape to be a tracker or that I'm not smart enough to get the inverted chevron?"
"Not at all. You are in excellent physical condition and I would never question your intelligence. I was referring to your age, but I should have known you'd want to start another world war. I don't know why we always have to disagree and argue about everything. I don't want to hurt your feelings but you're almost fifty-one years old and I would like nothing better than to argue my point when you're ninety-one. How do you feel?"
"I'm already past fifty-one but I feel like I'm thirty and being treated like I'm ninety."
"That's not what I meant and you know it. How do you feel?"
"I'm hot and tired and my mouth feels like it's been stuffed with dirty socks."
"Are you sleepy?"
"No, I'm not. I'm just a bit upset."
"Close your eyes and try to relax. This shouldn't take much longer."
"Are you in a hurry to leave?"
"No," he stated flatly. "This is a difficult procedure and I don't want to hurt you. I don't even want to upset you, so can we call a truce?"
James was quiet for a minute. His son had never taken his eyes off the monitor, no even to argue.
"I agree. We had better call a truce."
"Are you getting sleepy yet?"
"No, son. I'm not really sleepy. I'm just tired. I'm tired of everything." James' voice had softened as he let some of his real feelings escape.
"I know, Dad. Just hang in there and things will be better tomorrow."
"How can you say things will be better tomorrow? Tomorrow, I'll be another day older and another day closer to the end of my usefulness. Will you be the one they send to kill me when they don't need me any more?"
"You know we don't practice euthanasia."
"No, son. Not euthanasia. Murder. I'm talking about murder, like they murdered your mother. Do you murder people like you're suposed to?"
"I think you had better be quiet and let me do my job."
James closed his eyes, he had said too much already. He didn't regret what he had said, but he might have to pay for those words with his life. He realized he was only two drops away from death and only one drop away from a fate worse than death.
His only begotten son held the answer in his hand. The choice was his and James had no alternative but to accept his decision. Perhaps the deciding factor rested in the power of the words that remained unspoken....
...Somewhere in the halls of space and timelessness, noisy words broke through, shattering the silence of eternity.
"Dad. Dad, wake up."
James reluctantly opened his eyes and saw his son standing over him. There was a look of apprehension on his face.
"How do you feel?"
The young man took hold of his fathers wrist to feel is pulse.
"I'm all right."
"You scared me. You weren't suposed to go sleep and when you did, I couldn't get you to respond."
"I guess I was just thinking and fell asleep."
"They must have been good thoughts, you were smiling."
"They were real good thoughts. I just didn't realize what a good life I've had."
"I'd like to stay and talk for a while," he said as he began to play with his collar, "but you're going to be fine now. You should live to be at least a hundred. You be sure to take the medication I prescribed. It's not necessary, but you can take the repressor as long as you want to divert the energy, although it does assist the hyperpsyaculine. I think you should continue the medication until we complete a series of testing. Have you noticed any improvement?"
James nodded.
"Good. Tell me about it."
"Training time is six weeks and I trained in two weeks. The high score on the test is ninety-two but I passed with a perfect score."
"Have you had any side effects of any kind?"
James shook his head. It was a lie.
"Have you noticed any change in your moods or thought patterns?"
Again, James shook his head. That too, was a lie but he wasn't ready to discuss the truth. Not yet.
"When you have some time off, why don't you make an appointment and we'll do the necessary testing. This little combination of chemicals might be just what I need to get another gold stripe."
"It very well could be."
"I'm going to leave a message at the office, then I have to go."
"Do you really have to leave so soon?"
James V inserted his key into the computer.
"Computer, leave a message at the office. Note the time. I'm leaving now and I should arrive home in approximately ten minutes."
He put the key back into his pocket as he turned to face his father.
"You know I have to leave. You are in perfect health now and there's no reason for me to stay any longer. I want you to call if you need me for anything, all right?"
"Sure, Son. Thanks for everything."
"Anytime, Dad."
James V took his medical kit and left as quickly as he came.
For several minutes, James remained quiet and unmoving. He heard the pneumatic hissing of the door and the soft click of the automatic computer lock. The house was quiet except for the low, steady hum of the climate control.