A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 7

Jane returns to find me almost asleep. "You're still weak from the strain on your body to heal your injuries so quickly. I will leave you to sleep for a few hours, till the tests results come back."

I manage to nod my head and then close my eyes. Jane heads for the door again, but I don't even see her leave as I slip down into a blissful sleep, made even better by a full stomach.

Jane heads to the small office that Doctor Worth has been using since Christopher arrived, months before and knocks on the door gently.

"Come in," calls out George from behind the desk in front of the window.

Jane walks in, as George puts his hands behind his head and stretches his arms and shoulders from side to side. "What can I do for you? Is everything ok with our patient?"

"Yes, everything is fine. He just had his lunch and now he has fallen asleep again."

George leans forward, sitting up straighter in his high- backed leather chair. "I'm not surprised. The strain on his body to heal that fast would take a lot of energy, and food and sleep are the only way to accomplish that."

Jane nods her head in understanding, as she looks absentmindedly out the window behind him to the parking lot and the trees that line the roadway to the clinic.

George sees her hesitation. "Is there anything else, Jane?"

She pulls her eyes from the window and looks down at the desk in the room, trying to bring her jumbled thoughts under control. "I don't know what it is, but he seems to know what I am thinking, and he also seems to be able to effect my feelings. I have never felt like this before."

George smiles at her confusion. "Have you ever been married, or seriously in love with somebody?"

Jane snaps her head up. "I don't mean like that, and no, I have always been too busy working on my projects for that kind of thing."

"Well, I don't mean to imply anything, but anybody can see that the two of you are taken by each other. I have had those same feelings myself for Martha, when we started dating years ago. It may be nothing more than that."

"I don't know. I just think there is more to it, that's all. He drew a spiral design that I was thinking about last night, while I was home, and he showed it to me this morning as soon as I arrived."

George leans back in his leather chair. "I see. That kind of thing would not show up in the tests we are conducting. Is it possible that these Nanos you developed could cause such an effect on the human brain?"

Jane walks around the room as she considers just that. "I don't know. They were designed to repair tissue damage and redirect neural pathways. The results of those changes are one of the reasons we are conducting this test. The human brain as you know, is a very delicate organ, one that can do amazing things. Are you familiar with the Savants of the world?"

George considers the term. "Do you mean the ones that can do mathematical calculations in their heads to the last degree, or the people that have photographic memories?"

"Yes, and many other unbelievable things. The brain can do amazing things. Things that we do not even know we can do, but every now and then, a person comes along that can access those abilities and transfer them to their conscious mind."

George leans forward. "But if memory serves me correctly, all of those people are close to being helpless. Many of them need constant care just to eat or drink."

"Yes, that is true, but what if they don't need to be?"

George shakes his head. "Do you mean to tell me that Christopher is one of those people now because of your little machines in his head?"

"I don't know, it is just a feeling that I am getting from him; one that makes me wonder. I wish we did not need to remove the battery pack from around his head. It could be a breakthrough in modern science if they are truly tapping into the endless wealth of knowledge deep in his subconscious and bringing it forward to his conscious mind."

George leans forward, putting a serious look on his face. "Ok, that is where this conversation needs to end, right now. Putting those devices in his head to save his life is one thing, but it is an entirely different issue if you plan to change him from what he was before the accident. That is using him as a Guinea Pig for your research, and that I will not allow, period!"

Jane instantly wants to respond to the verbal threat but relaxes as she takes a deep breath. "You are right, of course. It is just that they have healed him so quickly and they seem to have given him abilities far beyond a normal human."

"That may be true, but he is still a human, and if I was him, I would want to remain one, not something that could potentially turn into a monster. The deal was that when he was healed and returned to a "NORMAL" state, the battery pack would be removed, and the machines would cease to function. If the tests come back as good as I suspect they will, then tomorrow morning, I will remove the band around his head and then we will monitor him for two days. If his condition continues to remain stable, then, and only then, will he be released from our care to carry on with his life."

Jane knows that she can't argue with Doctor Worth's authority in this matter and nods her head in agreement. "You are absolutely right, of course. I was just voicing my thoughts on his abilities."

George gets up from behind his desk and moves around to the front and stops beside Jane. "I can appreciate that you have spent months, if not years, working on this project. If I was you, I would want to continue also, if there was a chance that there is more to learn from these little machines. But as I said earlier; if he is developing Savant's abilities, then how can we even trust him to respond as a sane human. For all we know, his brain has been so changed or altered that he may not even know what he is doing."

Jane backs up some. "I don't think he has been changed that much, that he does not know who he is anymore."

"I agree with you. That is why when the tests come back, and they confirm my suspicions, I will stop them from making any more changes to Christopher's brain. I think the Firm will be more than pleased with your success so far. You have proven that your work has far reaching implications for healing the human body, but it has to be done within the rules of human testing, and those rules state very clearly that I need to end this experiment and congratulate you on your success."

Jane slumps her shoulders, at the realization that George is right. "Thank you for your words, Doctor. You are right. The Firm is happy with how this has progressed and already they want an outline of the next step in testing the Nanos."

George smiles down at her from his six-foot height, as the phone makes its presence known by warbling insistently. "Maybe that is the results from the tests now."

George goes to the desk to answer the phone as Jane heads for the door and the cafeteria down the hall for something to eat herself.