Zam the Hybrid

1. The Last Glimmer of Hope

"He's just a boy," the woman wept. "My poor little boy. He doesn't deserve this."

"Nobody does my dear," Doctor Cass remarked, scratching his stubble, a grim look etched onto his face. There wasn't a single person in the world who deserved what Mary Baker's son had to deal with. Unfortunately, it was a harsh reality of life. "Shit happens as they say."

"The doctors all say he's got no time left but... but..." she broke down into tears. Just like she always did. Every time he watched this video, Doctor Cass forced himself to skip this part. Being a doctor, he wasn't exactly soft, but five straight minutes of a sobbing woman could make any man feel emotional. With a quick click of the mouse, the laptop had skipped the scene. Cass took a sip of water and a deep breath. Just like he always did.

"But that's the RHS. They're in a state of disarray. They couldn't help my Sammy even if they could," Mary finally managed to say. Yet again, she was right on the money. The new government was doing an excellent job of ruining Johto's economy and the services that the government provided were beginning to fail as well. Funds were being cut, workers were being laid off and so the Regional Health Service was in no fit state to deal with the majority of its patients, let alone someone in Sam Baker's condition.

"There has to be someone out there who can help me. Somebody can save my little boy. Please. Please help him." Yet again, she broke down completely, tears streaming from her eyes in mini rivers, flooding down her face. Cass closed his laptop, not wanting, or needing for that matter, to see any more. All that remained in the video was a mother crying for her nearly dead son.

Mary Baker's story was one that had gripped the region when it emerged through social media four months ago. What seemed like an ordinary video asking for donations had turned out to be so much more, a desperate plea captivating hundreds of people until the video spread around like wildfire, reaching anyone and everyone in Johto. The donations had flooded in, but answers and hope were still nowhere to be found. Like so many others in these troubling financial times, she'd turned to the Multi Purpose Charity for help. Mary then travelled far and wide, visiting the best doctors in the world by recommendation of the charitable cause and one by one they had all told her that there was no way to help her son. One by one they'd all failed. Now well and truly desperate, Mary had been pointed in the direction of the one man who could help her. The only man left who hadn't given up on Sam Baker. Cass.

Looking around his office, you could be forgiven for not realising that Cass was, in fact, a doctor. Unlike GP's and surgeons and others of that ilk, Cass' office walls weren't lined with certificates or awards of any kind. He was qualified and that was about it. He had no bragging rights and almost all other doctors looked down upon him. He didn't work for the RHS. He didn't work for anyone. This was mostly due to his... somewhat radical ways. He was referred to as the maverick doctor, the doc with no rules, a madman who should keep to himself and not interfere in the lives of real people. He smiled to himself, knowing that he was the only hope left for Sam Baker. All of the 'normal' doctors had failed. Now it was down to the maverick to save a life.

Checking his watch, he saw that he still had a few minutes until his meeting with Mary Baker. He couldn't sit through the video again. He'd already watched it half a dozen times today. Instead, he opted to properly prepare himself and get his facts straight. He pulled a file out of his desk labelled 'Sam Baker' and began skimming through it. He'd done his own tests on the boy just to ensure that the diagnosis was correct. It was. The poor boy had already been suffering from minor mental disorders when he sustained mild brain damage, the reason for which was unknown although the shape of his head did indicate signs of being struck. Hard. As if the young boy's brain situation wasn't bad enough, the Baker's then had the most horrible shock. Sam Baker was diagnosed with the worst kind of brain tumour. A form of cancer so bad that if not treated quickly enough, death was an absolute certainty. Unfortunately, his brain damage had hidden the cancer and by the time all of the high and mighty RHS doctors figured out what was wrong with him, it was too late to remove the tumour without killing the boy. Only Cass could save him now.

"Mary Baker to see you, sir," came a voice from Cass' intercom. It was his secretary, who he was also having a secret affair with.

"Send her through." The door in front of his desk swung open and in shuffled the woman from the video. He'd memorised her features, but that had been when she couldn't stop sobbing. Now he had a much clearer view of her crystal blue eyes, he saw the true sadness of a mother in desperate need. The look on her face told an even clearer story than her tears in the video. She brushed her long, silky black hair out of the way of her face and tried to smile. Her failed attempt to even pretend to look happy compelled Cass to succeed. He had to help this woman.

"Doctor Cass," she whispered.

"Mrs Baker," he smiled, shaking her hand and gesturing her to have a seat. He'd had a small speech planned. His next few sentences needed to be perfectly formed as this was an extremely delicate matter. "First of all, I'd like to say just how sorry I am for the awful position that you find yourself in. Nobody should have to go through what you or your son have."

"Thank you."

"However, I think I can save him." Mary's eyes shot wide open. Her mouth hung in disbelief. After all this time, could anybody really save Sam?

"You can? How?"

"There's a reason the Multi Purpose Charity pointed you in my direction after all other options had failed you. What I propose... no other doctor would ever dream of attempting. The chances of success are incredibly slim."

"But there would be a chance?" He looked Mary straight in the eyes. He saw a flurry of emotions going through her mind. He saw desperation mixed with hope. The last shred of hope in the whole world was all she had. But that wouldn't stop this incredible woman. That was all the hope she needed.

"Yes, there is a chance, however slim that I can save your son. It's highly theoretical but it is possible. I believe the only way to save your son is by brain transplant." Cass' bold statement earned a quizzical look.

"Brain transplant?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Literally taking his current unusable brain out of his head and putting in a new one. If he survives the surgery, it'll be like he's just been born again." Doctor Cass paused, still unsure of how to word his next sentence. This could derail his proposition. "Now, that does mean making a sacrifice. If we were to remove his current brain and replace it, the new brain wouldn't have the same memories as the old one. He'd have a completely new mind with no recollection of any events that happened prior to his surgery. In a sense, he'd no longer be the same person."

Mary took a moment to swallow the slight snag in the plan. In a sense, she'd still lose her son but in such a way that she could still have a son. "But he'd be alive?"

"If the surgery goes well then yes. Sam Baker would live for many more years to come," Cass smiled. "Here's how I look at the situation. Sam's been given less than six months to live but his brain is so badly damaged that he'd spend those remaining months in a coma. If the surgery went badly and he did lose his life, it wouldn't be much of a life to lose. I'm giving him a chance."

"Then that's a chance I'll take."