The Dangers of Saving a Life

Chapter 13: Chocka

Hock note: While Milo struggled with Professor Aidan and Kwin struggled with Alec, Dr. Chocka Zdravnik received a patient to his private practice.  

"How can Chocka assist you?"

The hunched old lady lumbered into Dr. Chocka's private practice with her own two legs, no taxi, no robotic walker, and no exoskeleton to assist her. This was no small feat. Chocka's floating office was attached to the Atraville Hospital foyer by a long flexible sky bridge. Yet she got there on her own. Comfortably dressed, she didn't use any of those meta skin creams like most elderly women, content to let her wrinkles show.

"I'm afraid I've been infected with dark energy."

"Do you feel different, perhaps more energetic than usual?"

The lady shook her head. "No, Dr. Chocka, I don't have much energy these days. But isn't dark energy everywhere? Doesn't it fill the universe? How do I keep from catching it?"

Chocka gestured to his examination table at the center of his office. "Please, if you will just lie down here, Chocka will set your mind at ease."

Chocka smiled as the sweet old lady rose carefully from the padded mahogany chair, shuffled over to the table, and lay down on its soft leather surface.

"If only everybody were more like you," Chocka said, "so diligent to avoid dark energy, our world would be such a better place." Chocka shook his head. "Sadly, most don't understand the dangers. They don't think of dimensional diseases or remember the plague that swept through Atraville. They don't consider how many people lost their lives. It was only Axion who saved us from total extinction."

Hock note: The Atraville plague and how Axion saved the world is the main plot for Trust in Axion available on Amazon. 

"I'm so grateful for Axion," the lady said.

Chocka smiled and nodded. Such a gracious response. Such a sweet woman. He checked her carefully with a hand-held inflation meter, sweeping the twin forks of the detector over her forehead, face, neck, torso, arms, and legs. Every time the meter beeped or flashed, the lady would flinch and groan.

"Oh, how awful," she said.

However, the meter actually showed only a minuscule level of inflation. It was less than the general cosmic level. This woman took very good care of herself. She had nothing to worry about.

"There should be very minimal treatment needed." Chocka smiled at her. "You're-"

But at that moment, the opaque cream-colored wall behind Chocka lit up with brilliant red. A series of beeps punctuated the room. Chocka set the meter on a floating shelf and turned to the wall. The head of a cartoon girl appeared superimposed over the soft swirling spiral of the Andromeda galaxy.

"Hello, Dr. Chocka," the smiling girl said in a pleasant voice. Chocka hated to be interrupted, so he set the assistant to be as pleasant and unobtrusive as possible. "I'm reminding you that the Atraville College campus guards have not returned the infant or the student to you as commanded. Their time has expired. They have defied you."

Chocka fought to control his anger. How large was Axion? How small was Chocka's anger? But the school had no right to defy Axion. When they disobeyed Chocka, they disobeyed Axion. And nobody had the right to defy Axion. Its particles spanned the universe. Its existence dated back to the beginning. Its kingdom would have no end. 

At that moment, axionic patterns flowed through his vision, powered by his neural interface, and connected with a magnetic antenna in his office. Chocka stopped to read them, although he didn't really need Axion to know what to do. He couldn't allow dark energy to escape.

"I need a stronger force," Chocka told his assistant. "Send Captain Max and the military to the college. Dark energy must be eradicated."

"Sending now," the smiling cartoon girl said.

The wall blanked out, turning back to its former cream color. When Chocka returned his attention to his patient, he frowned.

"Is everything alright?" the lady asked.

"You have a terrible case of dark energy."

At Chocka's nod, two nurses took positions on each side of the examination table, yellow eyes beaming from their white faces.

"Dark energy is a terrible threat to our world. Chocka has been commissioned by Axion, and it is Chocka's responsibility. Do you understand that? If this spreads it will be on Chocka's head. Axion will hold Chocka responsible. This is a very serious matter."

Sheer terror spread across the lady's wrinkled face. She looked like she might cry.

"You might feel a bit of pressure."

One of the nurses aimed a large black gun at the lady.

"I can't move."

Chocka picked a silvery-flared wand off the floating shelf. He started with her head. The lady screamed from the force of the gravity treatment.