Bionica: The War

A Rising Epidemic

Icharus Steele's mother lay in the casket, her face lacking its usual luster. The twenty-five-year-old professor of science wiped his eyes with an already damp handkerchief, and his wife, Amneris, put her hand on his shoulder. Icharus smiled at her and turned his attention back to the eulogy being concluded by his brother.

"She was a wonderful wife and an amazing friend. But most of all, she was my mother. And I will never forget her." The man stepped off the podium and a preacher stepped back up to finish the service.

As they were walking out, Amneris stood on her tiptoes and kissed her husband's cheek. "Are you doing okay?" she asked.

Icharus didn't respond. He had flashed back to the moments leading up to his mother's death. Her frail hand had squeezed his sturdy one as tight as it could as she spoke to him. "Icharus?" she'd said. "Don't let me get you down. Use the pain to help others." And with that her head had hit the pillow and her pulse monitor had flatlined.

Suddenly he snapped back into reality. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm doing fine." Amneris stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, rubbing his shoulders as she got down.

As soon as the service was over, Icharus held the door for his wife as she walked out of the church. Her cautious steps down the stairs did not go unnoticed. Icharus put his arms around her shoulders to steady her as she walked to the car. She smirked at him.

"I'm fine," she told him. "Why do you always have to chauffeur me around like that? I'm not helpless, just pregnant!"

"Now, Amneris-" Icharus started.

"No!" Amneris replied playfully. "This is my baby, and if it grows funny because I didn't get help from my loving husband, well, then I'd be surprised."

Icharus smiled and picked her up, spinning her around as she laughed almost uncontrollably. As they say, Icharus thought, one closes, another door opens.

_______

Sparks flew under Icharus's welding tools. Two months had passed since his mother's funeral. He'd spent every free hour he could get in the basement, working with circuit boards, wires, and odd things like that. His mother's last words had wormed their way into his brain, and now he worked day and night to help those with radiation sickness. But he was no biochemist, and he hadn't found a way to do that yet. So, day and night, he worked.

Icharus heard a soft thump and turned around to identify it. Six months pregnant, Amneris leaned against the doorframe. "Hi," she said. Icharus just nodded. "Can I come in?" Icharus nodded again. So she walked in, putting her arms around her husband's shoulders.

"Could you not do that?" Icharus asked. "I'm trying to concentrate."

Amneris reluctantly did as he asked. "You've been down here non-stop since the funeral," she said. "Why don't you come up? The baby needs its daddy." She put her hand on her stomach. "See? It's kicking."

Icharus turned and touched his wife's baby bump. Sure enough, a tiny foot pressed against his hand. He smiled. "I'll be up in five minutes."

Amneris stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Then she walked up the stairs.

Icharus returned to his work. But as he looked at his materials, they didn't seem the same as they had before. Suddenly a whole new light was cast on them. Filters, plastic-coated wires, and scraps of metal suddenly made sense. He scrambled for his cell phone, which laid on the desk beside him. He frantically dialed the number.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other line.

"Cassius!" Icharus said breathlessly. "I've figured it out!"

_______

Three more months came and went. Billboards lined the streets with the legendary inventor Icharus Steele's face. His miracle exoskeletons were a device that, up until then, society had only dreamed about. Now they were free to move about their world without having to worry about radiation sickness. Steele was now a miracle worker.

Icharus himself sat in front of a large TV screen, watching his best friend give a speech.

"They can hide no longer!" Cassius Tronyx's boomed from the speakers. "If they want to rule, let them come out and do it! But unless that happens, I call for an impeachment! Zosur Stone can't hold us forever, and if he wants us, he can come get us!" The crowd cheered as Icharus turned off the news.

An attendant walked in. "Mr. Steele?"

"What is it?"

The skinny intern straightened his oversized glasses. "Umm, just wanted to let you know that production is up. Supply and demand are at perfect levels. At least, according to your accountants."

"Good," Icharus said, getting up. "Are they ready to move to Phase II?"

"Umm, they said they should be ready within the next week."

Icharus paced the room as another intern walked in. "Sir?" said the intern. "It's Amneris."

"What about her?" Icharus asked, not even flinching.

"Well... she's had the baby." At this Icharus turned around and waited for the intern to continue. "It's a girl," said the second intern, "and Amneris has named her Diana."

Icharus let traces of a smile play at his lips. "Excellent."

The intern stuck around. "Well, that's not quite all, sir..."

The new father furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Stammering out of fear, the intern muttered, "She's, um, lost quite a bit of blood, and with all the radiation going around... we weren't sure if we were able to give her blood..."

Icharus's face turned grave. "What exactly are you implying?" The intern paused.

"Amneris might very well be dead."

All that he had worked for, building a future for his wife and daughter, was flushed down the drain in that instance. Icharus let his emotions show, tears rolling down his cheeks. He turned towards the window so the intern couldn't see him. "Bring my daughter here. Then get the developers working on Phase II. Have it running in two days."

As the intern rushed out, Icharus muttered, "I have to protect my daughter."