Syn-En: Registration Page 13

  “It will tell Mom.” Mom would tell Nell through her cerebral interface.

  Zahar fell onto the stoop besides her brothers. She picked up the boy’s hand and held it in her lap. Her emerald green eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Can you help him?”

  “Yes. Of course.” Nell clicked her jaw shut. That sounded like her speaking but Mom had told her brain what words to say. Dammit, Mom, I told you no hijacking my body. Not now, not ever.

  Never again would she be trapped inside her head while some stupid program usurped her free will.

  Dear, I can treat the child faster if I do not have to run everything through you.

  The boy groaned. His muscles spasmed. The oldest brother laid the child on the porch as the seizure wracked his frail body.

  Nell’s heart leapt into her throat. Jeez, the kid was sicker than she’d thought. Alright, Mom, do what you have to.

  Thanks, Dear.

  Blood dribbled from the boy’s fractured leg. A mophead scuttled forward, scrubbing up the blood and zapping the injury with a wayward tentacle.

  “Hey!” Nell raised her hand to pull the Padgow back, but her arm flopped back at her side. She grit her teeth. She knew giving control over her body to a computer would return to bite her on the butt. Programs lacked empathy. Mom, those things sting like a son of a gun. The kid doesn’t need that on top of everything.

  The stings are numbing him, so he doesn’t feel any pain.

  Oh. Guess the mopheads saved that little perk for people they liked. Nell’s scalp tingled as Mom extended her reach fully into her brain, making them inseparable. “What’s his name?”

  Zahar smoothed the boy’s oily bangs off his forehead. “Iness.” She jerked her chin to the man that had offered his fertility services earlier. “That’s Anwar.”

  Anwar pulled his strong, hairy legs close and wrapped his arms around them. “Can you really fix my brother?”

  “Yes. It will take time to make him healthy, but we shall make a start.” Nell set her first aid kit on the landing near the boy’s broken leg. Calm flooded through her. She knew what to do, how to do it. Everything would be alright. Shrugging off the pack, she propped it against a Doric column. Brown leaves fluttered to the ground when the pack brushed the dead vine.

  The mophead zigzagged over the stoop, cleaning up the debris. “Can I help?”

  “You’re helping a lot as it is.” Nell reached out to pet the Padgow then folded her hand close to her body. No touching. She needed the feeling in her hands. “Keeping things clean and managing Iness’s pain is very important.”

  The mophead glowed a bright pink and scuttled closer. “You can pet me. I shall not hurt you.”

  Tempting. The creatures looked so soft…

  “We should focus on healing the child, not petting.” Elvis dropped his saddlebags between her and the Padgow, sliding his head under her palm.

  “Yes, of course.” Nell patted the Amarook’s head. He had no reason to be jealous. Or territorial. “I’ll need you to scan the break with the diagnostic unit.”

  She would know the results as soon as the unit diagnosed his injuries thanks to Mom.

  Holding the smartphone-sized device, Elvis swept it down the broken leg from Iness’ thigh to his ankle. “X-rays are coming online now.”

  Images formed in Nell’s head. The femur had three cuts across the long thigh bone. Below the knee, the tibia had snapped in two. Both legs were bowed and their ends were thickened like fat beads. Nell caught her breath.

  Zahar glanced up. “Is it bad?”

  “Too bad for you to fix?” Suspicion darkened Anwar’s eyes.

  “He has rickets.” Mom had known it the moment Nell had looked at the boy. Living in the Valley of the Sun, she had never heard of the disease, would have believed it was all but extinct.

  Anwar picked up his brother’s floppy hand. “He probably caught it from the neighbors.”

  “You don’t catch rickets.” She eyed the sand canopy pressing against the force field then the artificial lighting holding the darkness at bay. “You get it from lack of vitamin D, from living without sunlight.”

  Zahar turned toward the center of town. “We can move into one of the bigger houses. Will that cure him?”

  “It will be the first step.” The rest, she’d wait for the professionals to do. He’ll need more drastic intervention to correct the curving of his spine and legs. He will probably never achieve the height of his brother.

  Elvis unzipped the first-aid kit. He sorted the supplies—bandages, antibiotics, skeletal mesh and the portable operating box. “The first step will be setting the bone and beginning Vitamin D therapy.”

  “Will it hurt him?” Zahar finger-combed Iness’s hair.

  “Not anymore than it already does.” Nell sorted the foil wrapped packets of Vitamin D from the other medical supplies. Forty-five doses. The emergency rations for the crew. Sailing among the stars wasn’t the best place to lay out for a suntan. “How many of your neighbors have this disease?”

  Eying the supplies, Anwar licked his lips. “Six or seven of them.”

  Zahar tsked. “More than that. Nearly a dozen if not more. It seems as if all the young ones have it.”

  “If the mother didn’t receive enough sunlight during her pregnancy, that could affect the fetus.” Elvis filled her head with an image of a line of children and her at the head with the diagnostic unit.

  Right. Another opportunity to dispel Pet’s rude insinuations. “I’ll check everyone out before dispensing the doses. Perhaps you should tell your neighbors to bring their affected to the ambassador’s palace. Natural exposure to sunlight will prevent them from getting worse.”

  If ultraviolet light penetrated the force field above them.

  It must. The plants still grow where the sunlight reaches them. Hope fluttered inside Nell. Sometimes, she appreciated having Mom around.

  Elvis separated one foil packet from the strip. Slicing it open with his claw, he popped out the tablet and handed it to Zahar. “Place this on his tongue. It will dissolve on its own but you may wish to give him a glass of water to help wash it down. I find the residue to be quite chalky.”

  “Open, Iness.” Zahar eased her brother’s lips back. Red gums pulled away from his teeth. As soon as his jaw slackened, she set the tablet on his tongue. “Anwar, get us a glass of water, then go spread the word to assemble in the ambassador’s gardens.”

  Anwar pushed to his feet. “Why don’t I just take the tablets to hand out? It would be faster, and I can tell who has these rickets with that thing.” He pointed to the diagnostic unit.

  “I need it to set your brother’s leg.” Nell unfolded the rectangular operating box then checked for the goo needed to complete the seal with the leg. “Padgow, I’ll need you to numb his leg again.”

  “Happy to.” The mophead scuttled closer. His pink tentacles slapped three places above and two places below the knee. “That should be enough for his size.”

  “Thank you.” He is quite an effective anesthesiologist. Nell nodded then sighed. Anwar still hadn’t moved. “Please, spread this important news. I’m sure worried parents will welcome news of a cure as much as everyone’s liberation.”

  Finally, the man rose. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  Take your time. Nell clamped her lips together before she uttered the words. She didn’t blame him for not trusting her. After all, she was a stranger. “Elvis, could you cut his pant leg away?”

  The Amarook fished out the scissors. Starting at the ragged hem, he ran the shears nearly to the groin. The fabric parted like butterfly wings. Blood dribbled from the exposed injury. Elvis stared at the wound. Drool hung in strings from his muzzle. Shining rivulets pooled into the injury. “Shall I clean it up?”

  “Do it.” Nell shuddered. Amarook spit had many medical benefits, but she couldn’t get over the fact that they licked themselves clean. Still… Her supplies could quickly disappear if everyone else was in such poor condition. Besides as a
topical antiseptic, his drool ruled.

  Elvis licked the wound in broad swipes. He eyed the portable operating box before widening the area he cleaned.

  Nell watched the sister. No reaction to the Amarook’s ministrations. Then again, Zarah allowed a stinging mophead to numb her brother’s pain.

  “I’ll need you to place Iness flat on his back and hold his shoulders. He must remain still when I set the bone.”

  “It is a great honor to be tended by an Amarook.” Zahar lay her brother against the stone.

  Iness groaned and his eyes fluttered. “Just like in the stories of the Skaperian Empress and her faithful Amarook.”

  Elvis growled and sat back. “We have broken our ties with the Skaperian Empress and have allied ourselves with Humans.” With a twitch of his tail, he began licking his hands.

  Nell tamped down the flare of annoyance. She didn’t need his emotions clouding her thoughts. She had too many people inside her head already. Setting the portable operating box in place, she pushed it against Iness’s leg, setting the seal.

  Goo oozed down the boy’s bowed leg but he didn’t make a sound.

  Being unconscious would be a mercy. Nell’s stomach turned. Too bad she couldn’t exercise the option. She placed a roll of hard-setting bandages, two strips of skeletal mesh and antibiotics into the box’s sleeve.

  Elvis spritzed it with antiseptic until a small fog filled the chamber. “I shall hold the leg just above the knee. Zahar must hold his torso.”

  “I’ll pull the bone in place.” Nell’s voice remained calm; her hands steady. Too bad her insides shook like a level nine earthquake. She set the diagnostic unit on top of the surgery bubble. The screen flickered for a moment, then the fracture came into view. “You may have to numb him once or twice before we’re done.”

  Any more than that and the toxin could prove fatal.

  The Padgow raised two antennae. “Ready.”

  Sweat beading her upper lip, Nell gripped Iness’s ankle. Very slowly, she pulled. The medical imager constantly updated, showing the bone’s new position.

  Iness moaned and kicked her in the thigh with his good leg. Once. Twice.

  Pain spiked inside her head, before fading away. Maybe she shouldn’t have sent Anwar away. Muscles burned along her arms. “I need him to relax.”

  If the boy tensed anymore, she might never get the bone in place.

  Zahar hummed. “It’s alright, brother. You will be well.”

  The Padgow rolled around her like a pink tumbleweed. He slapped the boy’s neck twice.

  Iness sighed then passed out.

  “Should have thought of that sooner.” The Padgow melted into a fuzzy bump. “That doesn’t require any toxin.”

  “Good to know.” Nell leaned back and the boy’s leg eased into place. She twisted it just a little so the jagged pieces lined up. “Make the operating box rigid.”

  The diagnostic unit beeped.

  Elvis tapped the plastic walls. They didn’t move under his touch. “It should hold the bone in place while you work.”

  “Get me the tweezers.” Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Nell scooted forward, looming over the injury. She stuck her hands into the preformed gloves. “I’m going to try to place the bigger chips in place, then insert the skeletal mesh. Afterwards, I’ll pull the smaller pieces out.”

  The gloves shrink-wrapped her fingers and palms. She probed the wound with her index finger. The damaged flesh closed around her like set gelatin. Using the imager, she deftly moved the bits of bone into the correct position.

  “It’s amazing.” Zahar sat opposite Nell, holding her brother’s hand while the Padgow nestled in her lap. “Is all Human technology so advanced?”

  “This is rudimentary compared to what’s on the ships.” Nell removed the wrapping from the skeletal mesh and slipped it inside the wound. Once in place, it molded to the bone, locking the pieces in place. The second mesh overlapped the first by an inch. Next she squirted the antibiotics inside. The liquid foamed up, pushing most of the loose bone chips and debris out.

  Elvis slipped the tweezers inside and misted them with sterilizing solution. “Forceps will be ready in sixty seconds.”

  “I may not need them.” Nell eyed the readout. Oops, she’d spoken too soon. Two small pieces remained. One was definitely bone, the other looked like fabric. She flushed the area again.

  This time both pieces floated free.

  Elvis panted over her shoulder. “You should always check a third time.”

  “Right. Measure once, cut twice.” She waited a minute for the scan to update. Finally, the screen cleared and flashed a new image. “Still clear.”

  The Amarook set his hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps you should assist Doc Cabo in sick bay.”

  “Not going to happen.” She could stomach Mom’s possession in an emergency, but not on a daily basis. Nell could lose herself inch by inch and not know it until it was too late. She’d find another way to be useful. She eased the self-suturing strip on both sides of the gash. The white tabs shrunk, pulling the skin closer and closer until only a thin line remained. Blood trickled down his thigh.

  “Will he have a scar?” Zahar’s breath fogged her side of the box.

  “A little one.” Nell smoothed an antibiotic absorptive pad on the injury. The edges wrinkled as it sealed the opening. “Operating box unseal.”

  The plastic shimmered then buckled.

  “That’s it?” Zahar scooted back.

  Nell pulled the box off Iness before carefully propping his leg on her knees. Opening the hardening bandage, she wrapped it around his leg, starting at his thigh and traveling all the way down to encase his foot. Within minutes, the form had hardened. “Don’t get the cast wet if you can help it.”

  Zahar’s nose wrinkled. “Iness doesn’t like to bathe. I hope he doesn’t take this as encouragement to break the other leg.”

  “Me too.” One possession per crash landing was her limit. Nell felt Mom’s tentacles retract and her brain once more become her own.

  Really, dear, you’re acting overly dramatic.

  Elvis carefully folded the operating box into a square, then packed the first-aid kit.

  Footsteps pounded behind her.

  Panting for breath, Anwar climbed the stoop. He dropped to the ground near his brother. His hand hovered over the repaired leg. Pain contorted his features before he smiled. “I’ve brought the Ck’son to carry everyone to the ambassador’s palace.”

  Green filled Nell’s peripheral vision, and she fell back.

  “I will be happy to carry Iness to the festivities.” Ck’dow scooped up the boy on her bladed arms. She set him on her large back then wrapped him in gossamer wings. “No one should miss the festivities.”

  Nell watched other oversized mantises creep down the dimly lit street. Each had one or two laughing children on their backs and another cradled in their arms.

  “It is certainly cause to celebrate.” Zarah dusted Nell’s backpack before handing it over.

  A shadowy figure leaned against a dead streetlamp.

  Elvis’s scruff stood up and he hunkered low. “Pet.”

  Nell gathered her belongings close. Not everyone wanted to celebrate. “Have you found someone to take me topside?”

  The sunshine streaming through the exposed dome seemed to dim.

  “Of course.” Ck’dow gestured to the silhouette. “Pet has volunteered. He knows the tunnels best.”

  “Pet?” The words squeaked through her tight throat. Nell bet the man knew exactly how to get rid of someone threatening his kingdom and make sure Bei never found her remains.

  Chapter 18

  Sitting on the ambassador’s throne, Nell sifted through foil packets. Most were empty. She needed one pill. Just one. The pregnant mother before her had a severe Vitamin D deficiency.

  Nell checked the tablet count on the portable medical device. One left then her Santa sack would be empty. Flicking the used packets to the side, she finally foun
d the last pill and handed it to the expectant mother. “Take this today. Then make sure you stand in the sunshine for an hour or so a day, every day.”

  “Thank you.” The woman popped the pill into her mouth. Her pale face scrunched up as it dissolved.

  Elvis poured her a glass of water and handed it to her. “And remember to eat a cup of sea grass a day.”

  “I will. It tastes better than that pill.” She guzzled the water, drops trickling down the corners of her mouth. Behind her the Human band had left their instruments in the gazebo beyond the pool and stood in line. Pale people lounged in the patches of sun while the young glided like ghosts of healthy children between the grassy fringe and the serving line.

  Good thing the grass is filled with Vitamin D. Mom associated the woman’s name with her medical file on the diagnostic unit. Without those tablets, the rickets pandemic will get worse.

  Holding her distended stomach, the woman waddled around the full tables on the terrace. No one rushed up to take her place. No sick, lame, injured person stood in line, waiting to be cured.

  Nell scanned the party.

  Inside the rectangular body of water on the lower level, Shish bobbed to the surface. They dumped more armfuls of sea grass before turning their bulbous faces to the rays of sunlight streaming through the overhead dome.

  A handful of mantises swarmed the new offering. They shoved the grass into their mouth with their chopstick arms before throwing it up in slimy green mounds. Swarms of baby Ck’son fell on the regurgitated food wiggling and pouncing like happy puppies. Near the terrace’s staircase, a single green Ck’son puttered around the topiaries, trimming the spiral-shaped foliage and popping the stray leaves inside his mandibles.

  Padgows zoomed through the legs of the crowd, eating the food dropped onto the stone patio by aliens and Humans. Every once in a while, they’d roll onto their backs and burp. Once bloated to nearly twice their size, the mopheads congregated in a pile of pink tumbleweeds deep under the stairs. When a man threw up near the loungers around the pond, two Padgows leap-frogged over each other to clean it up.