NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (35 page)

I was looking for room 221 on the second floor. That was what the Doctor had told me. Not a room but a laboratory, he’d added. Someone passed by and nodded politely to me, but overall the place looked deserted. I went up the stairs thinking about the purpose of my visit. I didn't know what to expect.  All I wanted was some indication that everything I’d been through had been worth it. I still didn't know if Shor had given me the information we needed, but I wanted to know that the Doctor was doing everything in his power to make sure it was being fully evaluated. I was not encouraged now that I could see the place was deserted.

“Hello?” said someone and pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Hello,” I answered.

I stopped a few stairs from the top of the staircase and looked at him. I took a deep breath and climbed the remaining stairs.

“Welcome. I am Kashir Hasis.”

“Yes, I remember you,” I said.

“The Doctor asked me to apologize for not being here himself. He had an urgent matter to attend to and he asked me to meet you in his place.”

“The Doctor,” I mumbled and looked around me again. “I wanted…” I started to say but stopped.

“I hope I can answer all your questions regarding the medicine we are developing,” he said.

“Yes, thank you,” I said.

“It's a great honor for me to speak with you again.”

I forced a smile to my face. I remembered how reluctant he was to cooperate when I first brought up the idea that the pool might have something to do with the plague. I wondered if it was still affecting his judgment.

“You did want to talk about the medicine?”

“Yes,” I said
hesitantly
.

“Then I am your man,” he said and smiled.

“You work with the Doctor?” I asked although I knew this.

“Yes, I am in charge of chemistry. As you must understand chemistry is at the heart of the matter.”

I nodded. “I would also like to hear about the other option.”

“The other option?” he wondered. “You think we are wrong?”

“I don't know. I didn't have the chance to really examine the information I brought back so it's hard to for me to know what to think.”

“It's not a matter of opinion. We did a thorough scientific analysis and you can trust that we know what we are doing.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I didn't say anything. I felt as if he was telling me that since this is not my field of expertise I should not interfere. It was true but I didn’t trust anyone on Naan. Including the young guy in front of me.    

He smiled again, his annoyance fading. “In any case I will be happy to explore either option with you.”

“I don't want to take up too much of your time,” I said but only out of politeness. “I suppose I can go over it by myself.”

“Over what?” he wondered.

“Over the information I brought back.”

“Well, in that case your visit will be very short.”

I looked at him wondering.

“We are only talking about one or two paragraphs. It will take you just a few moments to read them, but I doubt it will ease your mind.” 

He smiled again and waved towards a corridor to his right. “Let's go to my office. We can talk about it there.”

We walked through empty corridors, our steps echoing, until he stopped in front of a door and pushed it open.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“Holiday,” he said, standing next to the open door. “The plague is coming,” he added.

His office was small by any measure; a desk, a terminal, and minimal space to maneuver. He walked around his desk and sat in his chair.

“Please sit,” he said waving to the small chair that was in front of his desk. The room was so small that I needed to close the door behind me before I could move the chair far enough back from the desk to sit down.

“I don't suppose this terminal is connected to the network,” I said as I tried to find a comfortable position.

“Of course not,” said Kashir.

“You know why I am asking,” I said shifting again in my seat. I didn't know if he understood the consequences of this information reaching the wrong hands.

“I know enough," he said watching me fidget. “I apologize,” he said. “I should have brought in an appropriate chair.”

“That’s fine.”

He connected the neck sensor and looked at the monitor to his right.

The gases released from the underground cavities contain non-toxic molecules if exposure occurs in small doses. When the molecules enter the reservoirs, and evaporate into the atmosphere from the surface of the water, they go through a complex process of chemical disassembly and reassembly. One of the byproducts of this reaction is a deadly molecule that enters the respiratory system, adheres to the lung tissue, and starts a process that leads to inflammation. Protecting the population from the inflammation process requires reengineering of the molecular coupling sites.

“This is the first option,” said Kashir.

“Gasses, byproducts, deadly molecules, lung inflammation,” I mumbled.  “Sounds simple.”

“I don’t think it's that simple. On the other hand, everything seems simple once you fully understand it.”

I shifted my gaze between him and the screen. He looked like a young man, but he spoke like someone who was much older and more experienced.

“So, how do you want to do this?” he asked.

“Do what?” I asked in return.

“Do you want to go into the details? Shall I explain why we choose this one to work on and why it looks like the alternative that it's a genetic thing has very little chance of viability?” he asked.

“Yes, please explain your thought process,” I said.

“Certainly. I analyzed them both, and for this one,” he looked at the screen, “I built a model that is based on two hundred and thirty two steps that take place in the atmosphere to create this deadly molecule. The process creates a heavy, sinking molecule, exactly as this paragraph predicts.”

“How…” I said.  I looked at him and tried to rephrase my thoughts.

“How do I know it's true?” he said and I nodded.

“I have built a few dozen models in my life, and I can tell when a model is stable or not. This model is very stable and I am sure this is exactly what's happening.”

“How old are you?” I asked.

“Twenty five,” he said, but not before pausing for a few seconds.

“And you’ve built a few dozen models like this?”

He smiled.  “Why is this surprising you?”

“Why shouldn’t it surprise me?”

He nodded and his smile disappeared.  “Don't judge me.”

“I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend you.” I said. “I am not judging you, I’m judging this place.”

“I will be more than happy to discuss the details of my model if that is what you want.”

I shook my head. With my limited knowledge of chemistry, I eventually would need to trust his word. That made any such a deep discussion about the model pointless.

“We are working now on a passive molecule that will temporarily connect to these sites in the lungs. The
coupling sites
, if I use the words you brought back.”

“How is your progress?”

“We are close. There were a few obstacles but we got over them.”

“Obstacles?”

He concealed a sigh. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“If it's not too much trouble.”

Kashir leaned back. “The medicine is being manufactured in a private laboratory on Mampas, one of the labs that is in their chemical industrial center. One of the components of the medicine is a rare compound called Sesntsion that wasn't available on Mampas. Because of the urgency the lab ordered it for us only we’ve found out that this special order is coming in from Seragon.” He giggled. “You can imagine what went through the Doctor’s mind when he heard about it. He left immediately for Mampas to explain to the lab managers that they must look for a different source. He also insisted that they explain to their source on Seragon that they made a mistake and that the order was for Sesntion. To mask the whole thing further he has asked the Lab to order a large quantity of Sesntion, as well as three other substances that when mixed together form a fertilizer we use here.” He giggled again. “This cover story was my idea.”

I nodded. “When did all this happen?”

“Two weeks ago. The Sesntsion was ordered eventually from Paraday. They were willing to sell only large quantities. The Doctor arranged the deal through three different agents who transferred the substance from one to the other until it arrived here. We shipped the needed quantity to Mampas.”

He turned to the screen and with a twist of his neck he sent a long list of Mampasian letters. “These are the chemical steps these gases go through in the atmosphere." He scrolled down to the end of the list and pointed to the screen. “This is the structure of deadly molecule.”

“Very interesting,” I said. I thought he was showing me this to ease my mind.

“I can go over the steps with you?”

“I don't think it is necessary,” I said.

“Really it’s no trouble,” he said.

“That’s not the point,” I said.

I looked at the screen and then at him. "It's quite impressive," I said.

"Thank you," he said with clear satisfaction.

“Are you Naanite?” I asked even though it was clear he was.

“I am Naanite but probably an uncommon one,” he said seriously.

“Where did you study?”

“Here, in this University.”

“Are there more like you?”

“You mean scientists?”

“Yes.”

“There are few dozen.”

“Then how come no one found these gases and this process before now? How is it that it didn't occur to you that maybe something in the environment was responsible for the plague?”

He shook his head, gazed at the screen, and uploaded the paragraph from Shor.

“You brought this from Mampas,” he said. “We all know how you risked your life for this. But look what is written here.”

I looked at the screen puzzled.

“You knew about the gases before you left to go to Mampas," he said, "Even when you told us about the phenomenon, we didn't think it had anything to do with the plague.”

“What are you saying?”

“Simply knowing these gasses exist is not enough to make the connection.”

I nodded. “But all you have here on the screen is chemistry, chemistry related to these gasses.”

“Correct. And in certain conditions I should have known about…”

“Certain conditions?” I interrupted him.

“Your finding is geological,” he hurried to defend himself. “Chemists like me are not exposed to geological research like that. I assume if I had been aware of the geological research…” He nodded his head. “Even then I am not sure I would have guessed that these gasses go through such a complex process.”

“You might have, at least to the same extent that you know now,” I said.

We looked at each other for a few seconds.

“But this is more than a one man job. You say you are different than most people here. Maybe that’s the real problem.  Maybe there aren't enough people like you.”

He looked at me. “Naan is a very special place. People here are very strange. They have a complicated history and it affects every facet of our lives.”

“You mean they are primitive.”

He avoided my eyes. “They are not primitive. It's the way of life here,” he said.

“Way of life? To believe that death is the revenge of the planet for your fathers' mistakes is not primitive?”

“Ignorance of the cause of the plague is a result of the simple way of life we have chosen.  Naan’s revenge is a myth.”

“A myth that people here take very seriously.”

“Yes, but let's be fair. We haven’t proven this molecule exists and we haven’t proven we know how to cure the plague."

I nodded and stood up. He stood as well.

“I hope I haven’t offended you,” he said.

“The feeling is mutual,” I said.

“Do you want to talk about the second possibility?”

“I don't think it's necessary,” I said. I pushed the chair forward, opened the door, and stepped outside.

“I know you sacrificed a lot for Naan,” he said walking back around his desk and following me outside. “I want you to know that I am at your service at all times.”

“The best service you could do for me is making the cure work,” I said.

We went down to the entrance and he pulled open the door. It was clear that he needed all of his strength to do it. I walked outside.

“You know I will do everything I can,” he called behind me.

I turned to him. He was so small compared to the door behind him that for a moment he looked to me like a small child. I waved to him thinking how ridiculous this the situation was. Not only was he alone in this massive building, but also the fate of Naan lay on his shoulders.