That Elusive Cure 29

I raced home, wondering if I’d beat this scientist of Jimmy’s to the house. Too much was going on all at once, and my head felt like it was filled with static.

Mum had been dumfounded by the story I told her. I left her sat on the edge of her bed, the last of the clothes put away, but she had this look of disbelief that made me think she didn’t trust what I was saying at first. Then she’d reached out to hold my hand, wrapping her fingers tight around mine and I realised what I was seeing wasn’t disbelief, but guarded hope. Guess I know that feeling myself.

I got onto the motorway and put my foot down. Who knows what Jimmy would tell this man, this stranger? I had to get there and direct the conversation, protect the secrets of the machine. Ten minutes later and I pulled up to my house. A beat up old Fiesta was parked half on the pavement. I came to a stop on the driveway and took a second look at the rust-spotted red car. This was not the type of car I expected to see a scientist driving.

“Jimmy?” I said as I walked in the door, and went straight into the living room.

A skinny young man dressed in an old concert t-shirt and faded jeans sat opposite Jimmy. He stood as soon as he saw me and extended a hand. “Dr Handler.” He cleared his throat, averting his eyes like he was nervous. “Bob, my name’s Bob.”

I took his hand and shook. His palm was damp, his hand bony. “I’m Kath.”

I sat down in my chair, glancing at Jimmy as I did so. He smiled, looking far too relaxed for my liking. Over-confidant. That always meant trouble with Jimmy.

“So what has Jimmy told you?”

“Oh, not much. I only just got here.” Bob was talking to my shoulder. I decided maybe he had Asperger’s.

I dipped my head to catch his eye. “So you looked at the contents of the vial?”

Jimmy threw me a glare. I was taking his questions from him. Did he really think I was going to allow him free-rein with this conversation?

“Oh yes.” Bob gave me a brief smile, then glanced at Jimmy before staring at the wall. “I had to come and see you. I’ve been working on nanotechnology for the last ten years, and the sample you sent was years ahead of anything I’ve discovered. Where did you get the sample from?”

I tried to speak, but Jimmy got there first. “That’s confidential.” Jimmy stretched back on the sofa and clasped his hands behind his head. “I have this client. I’m bound by confidentiality. You know.”

What a load of poppycock. No way this kid scientist would fall for that. But I watched as Bob nodded vigorously.

“Of course. Confidential.” He wrung his hands. “Why did you send me the sample then?”

Jimmy sat forward. “I need to know if you can make more.”

For a few seconds, Bob didn’t say anything. He glanced at me, then at Jimmy. “This is way beyond anything I have created.”

My heart sank. The pod must have come from the future. Maybe the technology to replicate the little nano bits simply didn’t exist yet. Tears sprung from nowhere. That was it, dream over. Jimmy sank into the sofa, the cocky smile vanishing.

“But that’s not to say I can’t.” Bob took a notebook out of his back pocket. “I’ve made some quick calculations. I think with time I could replicate the particle. The main problem is…” he licked a finger and flipped through the pages, “there’s this element of the particle that I need to figure out, it’s completely new to me. The biometrics are all wrong, and there seems to be an intelligence in the individual particles with a nanoelectronic biosensor I’ve not come across. I’ve been using liposomes as a transport mechanism, but in the sample they seem to work differently. Even if I can’t replicate them, these seem advanced enough that if I introduce the right medium, I might be able to get them to self-replicate.”

I stared at him, not having understood much of what he said, but impressed that Bob really did seem to have a clue.

“Do you have a timescale?” Jimmy asked. He looked as perplexed as I felt.

Bob flipped through a couple more pages, scanning the notes there. “Six month. Maybe less.”

Six months, I could work with that.

“I’ll have to pull late shifts, I can’t be seen working on this. Can’t let Phil see this.” Bob was mumbling, not really speaking to us. The louder he said, “Do you know what this means?”

I shook my head as Bob made eye contact for a second.

“This is Nobel Prize winning stuff. This could change the world.” Bob was back leafing through his notebook. “What’s it do?”

“I’m sorry, what do you mean?”

“The particle? What is its purpose?”

“You need to know that?”

Bob nodded. “It’ll be hard to make more and know they’re working if I’m not sure what they are supposed to do. From my brief time with it under the microscope today I know it’s for medical purposes, but for what?” He paused for a second and said flippantly, “Is someone trying to cure cancer?”

Jimmy and I exchanged glances. How much should we tell him? That it cured people? Just how much we didn’t even know ourselves. Jimmy turned to me, leaving it up to me to say what I wanted.

“I – I – uh…” I stumbled over words. “Look, it’s a top secret thing. It fixes people.”

Jimmy gave me a pained look, he obviously thought I’d told too much. But how was Bob supposed to make more if he didn’t know what it did?

“Fixes what?”

“Um,” I glanced at Jimmy. “Everything. I think. To be honest we’re not sure how many things it cures.”

Bob was almost jiggling in his seat. “Wow. Just, wow.” He grinned at both of us. “Thank you for trusting me. This is bigger than big.” He made some notes on the pad, scribbling away manically for a couple of minutes.

Jimmy got up and came over to me, perching on the arm of the chair and putting an arm around me.

“Is there no way you could tell me where this sample came from?”

Jimmy shook his head. “Sorry.”

“It’s amazing, you know. A perfect little particle.” Bob gazed off into the distance then turned our way. “I hope you don’t find it too odd that I had to come and meet you, I had to try and see where you found the sample.”

I shrugged. “Maybe another time.”

Bob stood, hitching up his jeans before hesitantly offering his hand again. “I’d better go. Long ride back to the Midlands. Bessie doesn’t like driving at night.”

“Bessie?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Bob pointed out the window. “My car. She’s been with me since I was a student. You could say she’s my good luck charm.”

I looked curiously at Bob, deciding my first assessment of him wasn’t right. Maybe I could warm to this man. He shoved his hand into mine and we shook, this time a warm, dry palm touching my own.

Jimmy and I saw him off, watching Bessie cough out black smoke as she lurched up the street.

 “He seemed to know what he was talking about.” There was tension in the air between us, and I know it was all my doing. I took a deep breath and said, “You picked the right guy for the job.”

“Think you can last six months?”

“Scan’s tomorrow. I guess we’ll find out soon.”

Jimmy put an arm around me and pulled me close.