"It can't be done," Dr. Wilson insisted fervently. "Sir, Shepard is clinically brain-dead. After that long with no oxygen, no man has ever been revived beyond a hundred hours. We cannot overcome nature."
"That's because he's thinking like a man and that's where he's wrong," Miranda Lawson hissed quietly, her blue eyes narrowing in contempt at Wilson's hologram. "I can prove it"—but she stopped herself short seeing the Illusive Man's right hand come up in not-so-subtle gesture commanding her silence.
Her employer's face remained unchanged facing Wilson as if nothing had happened. "Operative Lawson disagrees. She is now in charge of Project Lazarus."
"B-but how can that be?" Wilson protested. "Lawson has no medical background—no qualifications of any—"
To that she could not stop herself from butting into the communication. —"Actually, Wilson, I have an extensive experience with human biochemistry and genetics, just none that would not be recognized through 'official channels' like your typical run-of-the-mill ivory-tower academic institutions—Not that it matters—The cutting edge of human genetics has and always will be fringe work."
With that the Illusive Man threw her look before returning his attention to Wilson. "The fact is, Doctor, anyone can download a physician's textbook of trends and diagnoses and conventions formulated by people who merely want to preserve quantity of individual lives over quality. Our purpose is to preserve one specific and thoroughly unconventional life, and that end requires us to think unconventionally, and thus proceed in ways that defy convention. I had hoped to retain your services as Chief Medical Expert on this project, but if you are so adamant that-"
"-No wait!" Wilson shouted desperately. "I'll cooperate with Lawson, even if I disagree with her professionally. If she seems to think that she can turn the project around, I'll cooperate."
"Excellent," the Illusive Man declared. "I'm pleased you decided to choose a more optimistic approach to the project, Doctor." With that, he ended the call.
The Illusive Man took a step towards her. From his expression, Miranda gathered he was unhappy about her little unwelcome interjection into his smack-down talk with his inferior. "Miranda, you've got control of the Lazarus project as promised. So explain to me, in laymans terms, why you think you can succeed where Wilson swore we would fail."
"It's all quite very simple, really," Miranda explained in an almost too bubbly demeanor. "It lies in the details of how Shepard really died—if you want to call it that. It all comes from data the medical staff you had working on Shepard overlooked, namely her hardsuit."
"As a biotic, Shepard modified her hardsuit to achieve the most benefit," Miranda declared almost as a reminder.
"A fact that was not lost to me," her employer replied.
"True, but what you were told you is that the there was no data from her hardsuit," the seemingly young woman declared. "There was no data, because her hardsuit power was cut off; most probably immediately after the same blast that damaged her air reserves. But all Alliance-specific hardsuit firmware is designed to preserve the life of its wearer in the event of catastrophic failure. As a biotic, Shepard chose to equip her hardsuit with two redundant level-ten medical exoskeletons and each had their own backup batteries." She brought up a simulation on her omni-tool.
A brightly-glowing yellow feminine figure came up on display then assaulted by white debris. "This is the known damage Shepard's suit. With her upgrades, her suit was programmed to preserve the life of its wearer for as long as possible. Her hardsuit power was the first to be cut-off, probably by the explosion. The shrapnel then sliced her primary and secondary air lines, but she still had the independent power sources of the mods she added. The hardsuit's firmware before cutting out gave final instructions to the mods to maintain its wearer's life: reduce wearer's internal temperature in sequence with oxygen cut off-Which brings me to now to how Shepard maybe clinically "brain dead." That is a very heavy-handed pronouncement: she didn't die of asphyxiation; virtually all the simulations I have performed using upto date Alliance hardsuit models show her body temperature dropping prior asphyxiation. Whether that was to death, is now a matter of opinion. The Shadow Broker's pawns found her and put her in cryogenic freezing. And now, we're dealing with what we have as a result. My initial brain scans show potential for regrowth with targeted stem-cell implants."
"Targeted stem-cell implants, given subject trauma level, aren't possible," The Illusive Man added. "I looked into it the matter thoroughly, even if cloned; they would be rejected on a cytoplasmic level."
"Not thoroughly enough," Miranda said with relishing satisfaction. "You didn't factor in that the subject was female and therefore has a full reserve of genetic data readily available, particularly on the cytoplasmic level."
"So what is your plan, Operative Lawson?"
"My plan is to go forward, and rebuild Shepard as she was," Miranda responded nonchalantly. "That was where Wilson's people failed. And they failed because they weren't even trying to looking at the problem in the right way or in the right place."
Miranda found herself under pressure. "We have the subject in custody, and we have perfect examples of her genetic code. We harvest what we need from her ovaries to avoid cytoplasmic rejection."
"This crosses a lot of lines, Miss Lawson," the Illusive Man added.
"No," Miranda said quietly. "We grow a perfect example of her own genetic code using her own cytoplasm and all mitochondrial organelles, replacing all organs and all vitally damaged parts seamlessly, except for the brain—including the ones we take from her. She will be as she was, entirely—possibly better. And she could be stronger if we choose the route of bio-enhancements. That is what I offer."
"Do you really believe it can be done?" The Illusive Man asked.
"My father did no less when it came to the women he considered for genetic harvesting for his project. All went on with their lives as if nothing happened. It will be done as it should be," Miranda Lawson said knowing she could deliver. "I believe that under the right conditions Shepard can be revived. I believe with proper handling of those conditions she will survive. And I also believe if we pick the properly compatible people, we will accomplish our goals."
"I'll hold you to that, Miss Lawson," the Illusive Man said with finality giving his final nod of approval.
"Shepard's body has been recovered," she admitted quietly. "The Lazarus project will proceed as planned."