Each scientist worked independently with only Dr. Maddow being aware of the cumulative results. They were released from duty after each advancement that they made, and replaced to keep the integrity of the project intact. In some instances, Dr. Maddow himself furthered the work so as not to allow sensitive information to find its way into university labs and other independent facilities that provided their talented members. The closer he came to achieving his goals, the more reclusive and silent he was when it came time to report to his superiors, save one. He was working with only a few assistants, none of which was from outside organizations, by the time congressional oversight had all but pulled the plug on financing the program. It did not matter to him as he had achieved what they all thought was impossible.
He chemically spliced a planarian gene with a similar human gene. When this was introduced with a human stem cell, it resulted in daughter cells, which replicated the properties of regeneration found in the planaria. With this ability, he was able genetically to reengineer human DNA. By doing so, he eliminated the natural errors within normal DNA replication and the effects they produced. Not only was continuous, error free DNA replication possible, but also the regeneration of damaged cells, eliminating the decay and aging of organs and body tissue.
The second phase of this process was introducing the planarian gene with a hematopoietic cell. This success culminated in an intra-osseous infusion. By having such regenerative abilities within the bone marrow, the host would be virtually disease free, and have an immune system capable of fighting any form of known infection or other intrusion. When he was sure of the results, he became the first test subject. The one person who had discovered sufficient details about his work, not by his own understanding of genetics, but rather by being shrewd enough to have a spy amongst his staff, was a lieutenant colonel named Frank Bishop who, in time, became the second subject. Together they officially shut down project F.O.Y. They had remained in close professional contact ever since.
Keith’s father called earlier in the day and asked him to come by his apartment when he was through. It had been relatively quiet, for the security department, ever since the killings and the subsequent expulsion of someone many of them had known. It was a reminder of the consequences that had to be paid for such actions. Keith did not disagree with the punishment; it was however, an indicator of the significance in the role he and his men played. At least people didn’t have guns in here, he thought. When he reached his father’s apartment, the door was opened before he could signal his presence, probably a security camera.
“Hello son,” he said extending his hand, “Come on in.”
Son, not Keith; he must want something.
“Have a seat, I’ll be right with you,” he said as he turned to leave the room.
His father’s apartment was only slightly larger than his own. Keith did not concern himself about such things, and probably would not have even noticed this difference if it was not for Terri commenting on it the last time they were there. Things like that mattered to her. His father returned with two glasses filled to about an inch deep with an amber colored liquid Keith assumed was Scotch whiskey. He handed one to Keith and took a seat. They both took a sip enjoying the warmth of the highly controlled, and hard to come by, liquid.
“Okay. I got the Scotch, and the friendly welcome. What is it you want dad,” Keith said directly.
His father smiled and said, “We need someone to undergo some important treatments before we can safely return to the outside.”
“Who’s we?”
“The board of directors of course; but in a sense, everyone inside.”
“I assume you have me in mind for this job. Why me?”
“I can’t think of anyone more capable or trustworthy.”
Keith was not exactly buying that line, but his father was not known for flattery either. “What do you need me to do?”
“Go outside,” his father said evenly.
Keith raised his eyes in surprise, “Isn’t that a little bit dangerous, in fact suicidal?”
“In the condition you are in now, yes.”
“Condition; what do you mean ‘condition‘?”
“I don’t plan on sacrificing you son. In fact, just the opposite; you would undergo a procedure which would make the environmental factors outside harmless to you.”
“Why don’t you just treat everyone and we can all leave,” Keith responded.
“Because we can only do one treatment, otherwise we would. An element to the procedure must be obtained from outside. To do this, we not only need someone to go out there, we also need him to come back.”
“How sure are you that this will work?”
“One-hundred percent.”
Keith raised his eyes in question, “What makes you so certain?”
Frank Bishop took another sip from his glass, and considered his next words before replying. “How old do you think Dr. Maddow is,” he asked his son.
“I don’t know. I’d guess a few years older than you. Why,” he said wondering where the conversation was going.
“He is seventy-five.”
“He sure looks good for his age.”
“It is more than looks Keith. I’ve known Martin for almost twenty-five years. He looks the same now, as he did when I first met him. He is as healthy now as he was then. The man is a genius. And I mean that in a literal way.”
“Okay. So what you’re telling me is that somehow your friend has found a way to continue to look younger than he is and to stay healthy―so what?”
“It is more than that Keith,” his father said annoyed slightly by his son’s flippancy. “He can do things; you’ll have to ask him for the technical terms, to make your system immune to the conditions on the surface. He can then do the same for everyone else if you are successful in obtaining what he needs to achieve that.”
Keith thought about that statement, and the whole conversation. He knew his father would not want him simply to do something that would cause his death. He also knew his father might not tell him everything, but he had never before told him an outright lie. “What does this treatment involve, and what is it I would need to find?”
“First you need to let me know if you are willing to do it. If not, then you don’t need to know, and I’ll have to find someone else.”
“I’ll do it. I think you knew that already Dad. You know I’m not one to put something off on someone else’s shoulders just because it might be a little dangerous.”
His father nodded in acceptance. “The procedure will not be painful, and it is done under sedation. I’m told you will be injected with several chemicals, all of which are safe, and some of which will need to be placed into the bone marrow. As to what it is we want you to find, it is a small worm called a planarian. They are generally less than a half inch in size, and are located in water, and sometimes under logs or in moist soils in humid areas.”
“You’re telling me that miniature worms are going to allow everyone to get out of here, and go back outside,” he stated skeptically.
“Yes.”
It was beginning to sound surreal. If he did not know the individual who was telling him this as well as he did, he would have laughed in his face and walked away. But he did know him, and he was saying it. His father challenged Keith throughout his life. He asked more from him than he did anyone else he knew, including his brother. He never lied to him, at least not that he ever knew of, but his father was also a very reserved man when it came to discussing anything of a personal or intimate nature. Keith respected him more than any other person he knew. But, he also realized there was another side of him that he would possibly never know. As incredulous as the conversation seemed, he found himself saying, “When do I start?”